


When You Least Expect It

by IronStrange3000



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: As he should be., Cloak of Levitation (Marvel), Healing, Hurt Stephen Strange, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, IronStrange, It's already been a year holy shit, Kidnapped Stephen Strange, Kidnapped Tony Stark, Kidnapping, M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Tony Stark, Recovery, Revenge, Shared Trauma, Slow Burn, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is alive bitches!, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 45,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23955205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IronStrange3000/pseuds/IronStrange3000
Summary: When Tony and Stephen find themselves kidnapped by vengeful loved ones of victims from The Black Order's attack, they find themselves having to put aside their dislike for one another and work together to escape.After all, once it's all said and done, they'll be able to part ways and move on...right?*Not compliant with Endgame, takes place after the blip.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener & Peter Parker & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Stephen Strange, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Stephen Strange & Wong, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 117
Kudos: 254





	1. Another Day, Another Abduction

**Author's Note:**

> The ideas that come to your head when you're bored and have had a drink or two....
> 
> I dunno if this works well, or if this looks stupid. It's been a admittedly a few years since I've written a multi-chapter fic that's more than 3 or 4 chapters. Here goes nothing, I guess!
> 
> *this fic takes place after Endgame, but Tony has survived the snap.

His first coherent thought was, _Fuck, have I gone blind?_

The idea sent him into a panic. Tony blinked his eyes desperately, and scrambled to sit up. As his vision adjusted to the darkness of the large, empty room around him, he caught sight of a faint light on the far side; a small window, caked with dirt and dust. Peering closer, his heart sank to see a thick metal grate in front of it. A shuddering sigh escaped his mouth.

_Okay. Good news, I can see. Bad news…where the hell am I?_

The pounding in his head seeming to get worse with every single thought while he wracked his memories for answers. Vaguely, he could remember a car rear-ending his own, him getting out to confront the other driver, pain, and then nothing until he woke up here.

He went to run his prosthetic hand through his hair- only to discover the vibranium arm was completely gone.

"Fucking bastards....you save the goddamn universe, and they repay you by stealing your arm..."

He let his body drop back down to the floor, laying on his side, groaning mostly in annoyance. It wasn’t like being kidnapped was anything new for him. No, if anything, it was expected by this point in his life. Granted, some experiences had left more scars than others – his hand unconsciously drifted down to his chest - but he knew he would be fine as long as he stayed focused and did what he could to survive.

A sound of a groan behind him yanked him from his thoughts. Startled, he tried to sit back up, flopping around like a fish out of water, his eyes darting around the dark room. For a moment, all he could see were the blank walls, until he noticed the silhouette of a large mound in the corner opposite the window. The mound began to move slightly, the groaning noise coming from it once again.

“Okay, either you’re in pain, or you’re jerking off over there, and either way, I’m not sure what to do in response…” Going cautiously slow, he began to awkwardly crawl over to the crumpled figure on the floor, trying to balance on his one arm. Once he was close enough, he helped the figure roll over. In the dim sunlight just barely squeezing through the window, he could make out the face of Dr. Stephen Strange. The sorcerer’s eyes were still shut, his face contorted in pain. “Wizard?” Unsure of what else to do, Tony gently slapped the side of his face a few times. His stomach sank when he felt his hand get coated in something wet, dripping from Stephen’s hairline. “Shit… hey, Strange! Wake up!”

Stephen’s eyes fluttered open, his face contorting in confusion at the darkness. As his eyes adjusted and he recognized the man hovering over him, he tried to speak, but only began to cough.

Tony quickly and gently guided Stephen to a sitting position, watching as he struggled to speak. A thick metal collar around Stephen’s neck caught glare of the sunlight from the window. For a moment, it shined in Tony’s face, almost like it was winking tauntingly at him.

“Stark…?” the sorcerer finally managed to choke out as he took in their limited surroundings."Your arm's gone."

Tony rolled his eyes. "No shit, Sherlock."

The doctor caught his breath, looking around again. “Where the hell are we?"

“Appears to be some basement. I just woke up, I’m not sure what’s going on yet. Besides that cut on your head, do you think you’re injured at all?” Stephen took a moment, mentally checking himself but then shook his head. “Good. Okay, is it possible for you to just, I don’t know, magic us out of here, or something?” His response came in the form of a glare and Stephen holding up his bare hands. Tony cocked his head. “Umm… I don’t see what…”

“My sling ring. They took it.”

“Oh! Right! Your…your magic ring thingy. But, I mean, you can do stuff without it, right? That little piece of jewelry can’t possibly be the only thing-”

“Yes I can, I just can’t portal us out of here! But I can at least protect us until we find a way out!” He began to move his hands in the air. For a moment, yellow sparks appeared before a sudden, violent shock came through the collar around his neck, and a scream tore from his throat. The doctor fell over, gripping at the offending device, as if he could just rip it off.

Luckily, Tony caught his head before it could hit the concrete floor, moving his leg to support him. “Fuck!” Stephen’s breath was heavy while he tried to calm himself. “You alright?” The man glared up at him, causing him to laugh. “Okay, I know, stupid question.”

“I’m fine. Apparently these assholes planned ahead and knew I’d try to escape with magic.”

“Well, no shit. You kidnap a wizard, of course you expect him to try to magic his way out. But luckily for us, I do have something better than magic…” He trailed off as his hand again reached for his chest, but nothing happened. It then dawned on him- he would’ve seen his chest glowing when he came to. Dread filled him as he touched the arc reactor again and again, as if it would suddenly summon the nanotech. The feeling of Stephen’s tired disapproving stare bore into him. He finally swallowed against a lump in his throat and forced himself to look down, only to see a hollowed-out arc reactor.

_You’ve got to be shitting me…_

Trying to hide his panic, he let his hand fall from his chest. “Uhh…alright scratch that…”

“Anymore brilliant ideas, douchebag?”

“Alright, alright, I know! But I didn’t expect these assholes to know to gut the arc reactor. Usually kidnappers aren’t too bright.”

As if on cue, a door opened, casting light on a set of stairs. The sound of shoes tromping down the stairs filled the room, and a bright light suddenly replaced the darkness. The two men squinted, taking in the image of four strangers in front of them, all dressed from head to toe in black, their faces hidden by ski masks.

Tony snorted, sitting up a little straighter. “Ski masks. How droll. A classic.”

For a moment, the room was entirely silent, the captors observing their hostages, and the hostages observing them. No one made a move, no one made a sound. Finally, Tony had enough and spoke again. He tried to ignore the way his body trembled slightly.

“Well, you’re clearly not ones for small talk, so how about we make this quick…” He cleared his throat in a dramatic fashion, striking a pose like he was a freshman drama student about to deliver a Shakespearean monologue. “Help, help. Let us go, you assholes.” He dropped his pose and looked back at the captors. “…now you get all pissy, and you tell me what you’re after. Then we call Ms. Potts, she works out a deal, we all go home-”

A sudden kick to his side cut his banter short. He winced, trying to swallow a cry of pain.

“Shut up, Stark!” snapped the one who kicked him; a tall, lanky person whose limbs seemed almost too long for his body. When he caught his breath, Stephen was quick to elbow him, cutting off the retort he knew was on the tip of the inventor’s tongue.

One of the other captors chuckled. Female, from the sound of it. “At least the magical one can agree that Stark needs to learn to keep his mouth shut.”

At this, Stephen couldn’t help but smirk at Tony. The latter raised his brow at him before looking back at the masked people in front of them.

“Then why don’t you friendly folks lead the conversation?” He glanced at the one who’d kicked him. “How about you, Slenderman? You seem to be the most engaging so far.” The nickname resulted in another kick to his side.

“Just tell us what you want.” Stephen spoke up as Tony doubled over, grabbing the injured area

The tall captor’s eyes met the doctor’s. The former’s were dry and bloodshot.

“What we really want, we will never have. And that those we lost because of _your_ recklessness in the streets during those…alien things looking for your stupid necklace!” His voice was almost a hiss, getting angrier with every word.

Tony winced again. Just like being kidnapped was nothing new, having to face the anger of civilians whose loved ones were casualties of his battles. That didn't mean it didn't hurt every time it was mentioned.

The shortest of the captors piped up, his voice booming and furious. “You ‘heroes’ never seem to care who gets hurt! It’s all a game to you! As long as you win, fuck everyone else in the world!”

The female captor placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, easy. Why don’t we save it for later on, hmm?”

Both captives exchanged glances before looking back at their captors. “…I…I don’t think either of us could ever express how truly sorry we are about your losses...” Stephen murmured. 

“No, of course not! Because you really aren’t. They were just nameless faces in the crowds.” The tall man sneered.

“That’s not what we think at all-” Tony was again cut off by a third kick. “Fuck! Stop doing that already!”

“…and that brings us to what we want instead.” His voice cracked on his last word before he cleared his throat. “If we can’t have them back, you’ll be paying with your own miserable lives!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have our first chapter! I dunno, give me your thoughts; good? Bad? Dumb? Interesting? A mix?
> 
> Hope everyone is staying safe!


	2. Getting Right To It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The captors reveal their intent for slow, painful, death for them both. Tony begins to realize what's at stake, and Stephen has to help him through a panic attack. They both try to find hints of emotional cracks in the other's mask.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I didn't expect such a positive reaction to the first chapter! Please keep it coming with the comments, I sincerely appreciate the feedback!
> 
> For this chapter, I want to issue a content warning: this chapter includes blood, facial injury, threats, and a description of a panic attack.

The tall man, the one Tony had dubbed, “Slenderman,” watched for his captives' reactions as his words hung in the air like smoke from a fired gun.

“E-excuse me?” was all that Stephen could stutter out. He threw a glance at Tony, who didn’t seem phased by the threat to their lives.

“Smart with magic, but obviously not with words.” Snickered the woman. She bent over, bringing her face right in front of his, and spoke in a slow pace and condescending tone. “You…are…going…to…die.” The heat from her breath punctuated each word. Stephen curled his fists, digging his nails into his hand, trying to resist punching her.

“…so you want to kill us, but go through the trouble to kidnap us first, to…what? To gloat, or something?”

The woman looked at Tony, leaning in threateningly to him as well. “No, it’d just be more fun to play with you two and watch you die slowly and painfully.”

“Okay, enough of this chit-chatty bullshit. How about we get right to it, huh?” griped the shorter man.

“Read my mind!” laughed the tall one. He took a step forward and Stephen sprang to his feet, sparks flying from his hands.

The tall man hadn’t even flinched when Stephen had tried to attack. He had no reason to- he knew the collar locked around the captive’s neck would immediately act. When it did, the man just stood there impatiently, watching the doctor writhe in pain.

Stephen’s vision went white as the pain ripped through his neck once more. He fell over, his screams bouncing off the concrete walls. At this point in his life, Stephen using his sorcery had become instinctual. A fact he now cursed as he laid on the floor, waiting while the painful electric shocks from the collar died down. This one had been just as painful as the one before. His eyes met Tony’s, whose who were full of concern. Stephen gave him a brief nod before struggling to sit back up.

“You done playing games?” the tall man grumbled, boredom dripping from his voice.

Stephen met his eyes and tried to keep his voice steady. “Look, I'm clearly the one who you have a vendetta against. Let Stark go, and I won’t resist whatever you have planned.”

The shorter captor and the one that had yet to speak both snorted with laughter, though the laugh from the latter sounded a little forced as if he were laughing at a joke that he wasn’t sure why was funny to everyone else. The shorter one stepped forward suddenly and decked Tony square in the face.

Tony’s ear rang with the sudden impact, and he felt some cartilage crack. He fell backward, grabbing his now bleeding nose.

“Ah, what the hell was that for?” he snapped.

The man ignored him, looking instead at the fellow captive. “Nice try, Strange, but that’s not going to happen.”

“Then what is, going to happen, Hobbit?” Tony piped up. “Just like your friend, I’m tired of playing games.”

The shorter captor glared at him, then looked at Stephen. “Does he always pull this shit with the nicknames?”

Stephen rolled his eyes. “You don’t know the half of it.”

The woman spoke up. “To answer your question, Stark, you’re just going to have to wait and see what fun we’ll have with you both.” And with that, she turned back towards the stairs. The other three followed and marched back up the stairs, the last one up flicking the light switch.

As soon as the lights went out again and the door shut and locked, Tony heaved a sigh before twitching his nose. He hissed and sniffed, poking at it gently. This only caused more pain, and Stephen crawled over to him and softly felt his nose. Tony swallowed a painful moan when the scarred hands touched a tender spot.

“I think you might have a minor break. Here, hold it like this, _carefully…_ ” Stephen guided Tony’s hand to where he needed to pinch his nose.

“Well, at least I don’t need to feel self-conscious about being the only one bleeding.” Tony commented. When Stephen gave him a confused look, Tony leaned forward and tapped the now-dried cut on the doctor’s forehead. “Was still bleeding when you started to wake up. Guess they’re really taking their time if _this_ is their idea of ‘getting right to it.’ Pretty lame, if you ask me. Speaking of lame, dude, why would you try to play the, ‘take me instead’ card? It’s embarrassing.”

“Did you have to give two of them nicknames?”

“Oh, come on, you act like I never did that. I’ll give anyone a damn nickname. I mean, you remember Squidward when he came to New York?”

The sorcerer rubbed his temples. “Shut up, okay? The last thing I need right now is your bullshit.” 

“No, what’s _bullshit_ is trying to get them to let me go like that. What were you thinking would even happen?”

There was a pregnant pause as both men stared each other down in the dark. Outside their window, clouds had begun to gather in the sky, dimming the little light that they had coming in.

“…I was hoping…if these idiots had a shred of humanity, maybe they would’ve realized that they’re doing exactly what they’re accusing us of doing… and are looking to devastate a family that did them no wrong.”

His words hit Tony like a punch to gut. In any hostage situation he’d been involved in, it seemed like the best idea to keep any negative thoughts at bay in order to keep his wits about him, which included the concern of any loved ones. Usually it worked well, considering in the past, he didn’t have too many he’d leave behind. But now he recognized that this time was different- he had a big family that he needed to get back to. A family that seemed to be growing by the day.

Faces began to flash through his mind.

_Rhodey. Happy. Nat. Bruce._

_Pepper._

The image of her bright smile stung most of all. He’d seen that smile during so many moments. He’d seen it in the afterglow of sex, exchanging their vows, the first time they held Morgan…

He loved that smile, but now it was like a white-hot iron repeatedly scorching him.

As hard as he tried to stop the thoughts of those back home, they just sprang back up even harder. Stephen’s words had opened up flood gates, and now he was being drowned under the rushing waters. To make it all worse, his mind particularly wanted to focus on three specific people- his kids.

Morgan. His darling little daughter. One of the few things that kept him grounded during the five years after the snap. If he didn’t come home, she’d grow up without a father, and be forced to face even more devastation than after the final battle with Thanos.

Harley. He had kept in touch with him for years. The minute the teen heard about Tony almost dying from using the stones, he’d hopped on the first flight he could grab. He had stayed through Tony’s recovery, and (with the permission and blessing of his mother back in Tennessee) was staying with everyone at the brand-new Avengers’ Facility.

Peter. The whole reason Tony had figured out time travel and had beaten Thanos in the first place. The reason half the universe had returned after being snapped out of existence. The two had been inseparable as the inventor recovered, and once the new facility had completed construction, Tony insisted on Peter and his aunt moving in.

Bouncing off the walls of his mind were echoes of Morgan’s giggling as she ran around outside at the lake house, and Peter’s endless prattle about whatever came into his head. He could see Peter and Harley working diligently on their latest project in their corner of the lab, or roughhousing in hallway, just like brothers. He could see Harley’s lit up expression as he was accepted into MIT…Peter using his webs to make a swing for Morgan…the three of them curled up in a pillow fort, asleep halfway through a Disney marathon…

The sound of his kids’ voices was replaced by a high-pitched ringing. The air around him became heavy, and he took deep breaths, trying to get more air into his lungs. Each breath only seemed to make things worse. His lungs felt like they were barely functioning, and his heart pounded with the desperation. He glanced around the room, trying to find something, _anything,_ that would help.

But the world around him was becoming filled with the waters that had come with the floodgates being burst open. The waves were pushing him down, closing over his head, cutting off what little air he was getting. His mind was growing fuzzy, and he felt himself sinking deeper and deeper. Suddenly, a muffled voice cut through the ringing and water, but he couldn’t make out what it was saying. He was only vaguely aware of two hands on his shoulders, shaking him slightly, pulling him back to the surface. The voice became gradually louder and clearer.

“-ic attack! Just breathe!”

_Oh yeah. Stephen’s here, too._

The sorcerer’s voice became louder and louder, and eventually Tony felt himself break through the surface of that deep, dark water, only to find himself staring into the eyes of an uncharacteristically worried-looking Doctor Strange.

“Inhale, exhale. That’s it, Tony. Just breathe.” He waited until Tony moved to sit back up, propping himself on his one arm. “…are you back with me?” Tony nodded, awkwardly scooting back to put space between the two of them. It was only then he was aware of the dripping blood from his nose, and he went back to pinching it.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Just…thinking a little bit.”

Stephen raised his eyebrows and slightly cocked his head. An amused smirk tugged at his mouth. “About…?”

“Oh, you know. The cowards upstairs. How we’re gonna get out of here. The usual in this type of situation.”

This time, Stephen couldn’t hold back a smirk that told the inventor he didn’t believe a word of what he’d just said. He didn’t say anything about it, just looked away from Stephen, heat rising in his cheeks.

“…enough about me. Are _you_ okay? That collar seems like it means business.”

Stephen’s scarred hands flew to the offending object immediately. “It is rather painful. Did you see if they had a remote control, or anything that might’ve triggered it?” Tony shook his head. 

“I think it’s set to zap you if you attempt any magic tricks.” He crawled closer, getting on his knees so he could look a little closer at the collar. “Hmm…I wonder how they got it to react like that…you think any of these jokers went to Hogwarts with you?”

Rolling his eyes, Stephen took a moment to think. The voices of the captors didn’t sound like anyone he’d ever met at Kamar-Taj. “I don’t think it’s charmed. Can you see how it’s locked on?”

The inventor let go of his nose and prodded at the collar for a moment before re-grabbing his face. “Whatever locking mechanism is hidden damn well…” He sat back on his heels. “I guess we’ll have to wait til we get out of here to really figure it out.”

The men fell silent as Tony trailed off. Their eyes met once more.

“Uh, yeah. That’s…I guess we have no choice, huh?”

Tony let Stephen’s question go unanswered, as he studied the other’s face. There was something truly captivating about how Stephen was just like him in how he hid whatever he was feeling. He watched, his eyes tracing every line, every wrinkle, every patch of hair, looking for some sign of that mask falling away. He’d dealt with people long enough to know how to see the true fear in someone’s eyes, but all he could see in Stephen’s was his own reflection.

At the same time, Stephen thought about how Tony had been in the grips of a horrible panic attack moments earlier, and yet was now acting like nothing of the sort had happened. It was almost intriguing how fast this man could snap back into his care-free-snarky-rich-guy act. He may act tough, but Tony Stark was just as scared as he was. No, wait- Stephen was barely “scared.” He’d been killed again and again by a demon caught in a time loop, and then again by Thanos. These idiot kidnappers and their threats should be nothing to him.

They broke the stare, turning heads as suddenly as if shocked. They looked at the walls around them, leaning as far from each other as they could without moving any further across the floor. Tony checked his hand; the bleeding was slowing. 

“…think your friends can find us?” Stephen finally muttered.

“The team? Yeah. They’ll find us. They may be a bunch of dipshits, but they’re skilled dipshits.” Tony laughed. Stephen only nodded in reply, and they fell silent.

Outside, the rain had started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for all the feedback!!


	3. A Promise Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The captors discuss what's going on; the team is struggling to come to grips with what's happening while figuring out how to find their missing friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for this being mostly filler. Like I said early on, it's a long time since I've done a lengthy fic. (and I'm referring to ones I published on fanfiction.net long ago.) 
> 
> But I am happy (and surprised) to see the positive feedback on this story! Thank you all so much!! I hope I do you all proud!!
> 
> On with the chapter!

With an overly-dramatic flick of the wrist, the tall man slammed the door shut before fishing a key from his pocket and locking it. He tossed it in the air a few times as he walked to the kitchen, humming quietly to himself and peeling off his ski mask, shaking loose dirty blonde curls that framed his face.

Jasper had never felt so on top of the world before. In fact, he felt downright giddy! Who’d have thought kidnapping and torturing those he detested most could be so exhilarating? Well, the fact that his prisoners were two people who he blamed for his son’s death sure contributed to that!

Marianna watched her husband move to the kitchen with such a spring in his step, pealing her mask off as well. She never thought a person could become so deliriously happy, especially not him. Now that she thought about it as she tugged her hair down from its messy bun, she didn’t think she’d seen him so much as smile since the day those aliens had stormed Manhattan.

Her enjoyment about his happiness came to a halt when he opened the fridge and pulled out a beer. With a loud, satisfied exhale, he flopped into a chair and flung his ski mask onto the table. It slid across the smooth surface and plopped onto the floor. He looked at it for a moment, and then chuckled at it, reaching for a bottle opener that sat on the table and cracking the beer open. 

“Thought you were gonna quit?” she almost hissed.

Jasper tipped the bottle back, letting the ice-cold brown liquid rush down his throat, only pulling it away to breathe. “I said I’d only drink on special occasions. I think this qualifies!” He looked at the shorter captor. “Hey, Cam, I think I still got a few pilsners if you want?”

The shorter guy, Cam, pulled off his mask before going to the fridge and opening it. “I still don’t see why we can’t just off ‘em right now!” Finally spotting the pilsner, he grabbed it and joined Jasper at the table.

“Damn, you need patience! You don’t find it more fun to torment them?”

His friend sneered at him. “Look, when you said you knew where they were, I assumed it’d be, get in, grab them, and cut their throats.”

The woman pulled off her mask and joined them at the table, grabbing the beer from Jasper’s hand as he went to take another sip. “Now, you know, that’s a one-way ticket to getting caught, right?”

Cam just turned his chair away. Jasper stared at her, pursing his lips in a pout.

“Mary, baby…please give it back?” He stretched out his hand. She gave him a look that said, “are you kidding?” and leaned against the kitchen counter, pulling out her phone and unlocking it. She met his eyes with a devious grin and took a swing from his beer. He slammed his hand on the table. “Seriously?”

Marianna laughed. “God, you sound like a child!”

Jasper jumped to his feet, his face reddening with anger. “Give me. My beer. Now!”

She took another sip and continued to scroll through her own screen. “Nope.” His face almost went purple. Without even sparing him a glance, she said, “Hey Jazz, you still haven’t told me what your game plan is.”

His face lost some of its tension. “What do you mean? We went over this a hundred times?”

“No, you tend to just the idea- kidnap Stark and Strange, hurt them, let them die slowly. That’s all you told me for months. Now we’re here. What now?”

He took a deep breath and pulled his focus back. “My game plan…is do whatever we feel. If you wanna go down and stomp Stark’s fingers, or punch that magical fairy until he’s unrecognizable, do it. I don’t care when, I don’t care what. My only condition is that you don’t kill them with a beating.”

“And that’s it?” Cam huffed, his back still turned to them.

“Oh, come on! Do I need to give you a detailed schedule of every damn day?”

Finishing the beer in her hand, Marianna laughed. “Wouldn’t hurt.”

Gritting his teeth, Jasper looked at the table in front of him. “There’s no way to tell what’ll happen when. We’ll have our fun with them, and one day we’ll come down to find there’s nothing left. Okay?”

Cam knocked back the last of his beer. “Whatever, man.”

This only got Marianna to chuckle again. She looked over her shoulder at the fourth person in the room, who stood just a few steps from the basement door, mask in hand, just observing the others. “Taylor. You’re awfully quiet.”

“What else is new with him?” grumbled Cam.

Ignoring him, Marianna stood, taking a step towards Taylor. “Taylor, talk to us.”

The room fell silent. The only sound being heard was the pitter-patter of the rain against the roof, and the soft ticking of the clock on the kitchen wall. Taylor looked towards the ticking clock.

“I don’t know. What is there to say?”

Jasper shrugged. “Fair. Fair. Hey who’s turn is it to cook?”

**~~~~~~~~~**

Peter peeled his bloodshot eyes open, blinking in an attempt to get some moisture into them before reaching for his phone. The light of the screen, piercingly bright in the dark room, told him it was only 5:32 AM.

Pushing himself up, he glanced around the room, taking in the mess of stuffed animals and Barbie dolls that lay about. In a far corner was a small table with a plastic tea set sitting on it. Two of the “guests” from the “tea party” the day before, a boy doll with a red cloth tied around its neck and large plushie Iron Man, sat in chairs facing three empty ones.

Not too far from his sleeping bag on the floor was another sleeping bag. In this one was Harley, the older teen asleep on his stomach, snoring lightly. He had passed out pretty quickly once he’d laid down for the night, and, as Peter had come to know, was a heavy sleeper.

Standing behind him was a large bed, covered with a light pink canopy. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, Peter was relieved to see Morgan still sound asleep in it, among the crazy number of pillows.

It had taken so much to get her to sleep. Distracting her with games and toys the day before had been one thing, but the first few hours after bedtime had consisted of trying to answer her questions of Tony’s whereabouts and if he was coming home soon.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y, how long has she been asleep?” Peter asked in a whisper.

The A.I. answered in the same volume.

“Miss Morgan has been asleep for a total of six hours and twenty-one minutes.”

Peter scrambled ungracefully out of the sleeping bag and quietly left the room, closing the door behind him. As quietly as possible, he started down the hall to the elevator. “Anyone else awake right now?”

“Mrs. Potts-Stark, Sergeant Barnes, and Ms. Romanov are currently in the kitchen. Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Wilson are currently out for a jog around the grounds. Colonel Rhodes and Mr. Hogan left the building in a car headed towards Manhattan about two hours and fifty-three minutes ago.”

Hitting the button for the elevator, he yawned. “Cool. Thanks, FRI!”

“You are quite welcome, Peter.” Once the elevator doors opened and Peter stepped inside, she added, “Shall I take you to the common floor?”

“Yes, please!”

When the elevator reached the common floor and he made his way to the kitchen, he was greeted with the sight of Natasha leaning against the counter, munching on a plate of scrambled eggs. Bucky was busy putting away some dishes, and Pepper was seated at the island, hunched over a cup of coffee that had turned cold awhile ago. Her hands shook as she grasped the mug. To say that Pepper looked unwell would be a gross understatement. She looked as she hadn’t slept at all in the past day, and that she was as fragile as thin sliver of glass.

It had been about twenty-eight hours since Tony had vanished. His car had been found in a ditch on the side of the highway, looted and abandoned. When they tried to find any footage from that night, they discovered F.R.I.D.A.Y. had been down in the car for about ten minutes. The footage showed Tony simply driving down the dark highway, but then it cut to black and resumed with the car not moving and missing its driver. It was like part of a tape that had been swiped with a magnet; there was just a missing gap.

Natasha was the first one to spot Peter. “Good morning, _ребенок пауk._ ”

Peter couldn’t help but smile at the nickname. “Good morning, Ms. Romanoff! Morning, Sergeant Barnes! Morning, Mrs. Potts-Stark!”

Pepper smiled, but her mouth twitched as she did so, as if the simple act was incredibly painful. She kept her eyes on her mug. “Peter, you know you can call us all by our first names, right?”

The teen sheepishly looked at the ground. “I know…but it feels weird…”

She nodded. “Has Morgan woken up yet?”

“No, ma’am. She and Harley were still asleep when I left the room.”

Pepper nodded. “Good. I’m glad you kids got some sleep.”

“Peter slept for a total of three hours and thirteen minutes.” Chimed F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Peter winced, but simply shrugged. “Hey, it’s better than nothing, right?” Pepper nodded again as the room fell silent. “…have there been any updates?”

Nat turned and placed her plate on the counter, Bucky snapping it up to handwash it. “Not since last night.”

Bucky shut off the sink and turned to face everyone else. “Whoever they are, we know they’re aware of how to build a signal jammer strong enough to take out Tony’s tech for long enough to grab him.” He reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out a box of Cheerios and a bowl. “Kid, have some breakfast.”

“Cheerios?” he laughed. “I’m guessing that was Mr. Rodgers’ idea?”

And as if a dam had burst, Pepper began to cry. Her tears fell like rain down her pale cheeks and into her neglected coffee. Natasha laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, and Pepper reached up her own hand to cover the assassin’s. She gripped her hand hard as loud sobs wracked her body.

Peter froze where he stood, his eyes growing as wide as saucers. He didn't think he'd ever see Pepper cry in front of others, and the sight was incredibly jarring. “….what? What happened? Was it what I said?”

Nat began to gently stroke Pepper’s hair. “The cereal was the result of a bid to try to get Tony to eat a little healthier.” Peter immediately felt horrible.

Pepper took a moment to try to pull herself together, before adding, "I-it happened after I told him to stop eating the same sugary cereals Morgan insists on us getting. He had Happy go pick up about ten boxes of Cheerios." A sad smile graced her face. "I don't think he knows that I've caught him eating them."

“Mrs. Potts-Stark, I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel worse..." the teen said, reaching out to her, but ending up with his hand just hovering uselessly. He hadn’t expected such a small thing to break Pepper. His heart felt like it was being wrenched from his chest at how tightly she was holding onto Nat's hand.

"Please, call me Pepper!" she grabbed a napkin from the table and dabbed her eyes. “And it’s okay, sweetheart, you didn’t know!.” She sniffled, then chuckled humorlessly. "It's a little ridiculous, isn't it?"

"W-what is?"

"Being this upset over Cheerios." She blew her nose into the napkin.

"No! No it's not! You're just worried about him!" 

She stood up, gently shaking off Nat's hand. "Peter, I've seen that man survive so much shit. Some days he seems indestructible, and I think sometimes he forgets he's not. Each time he faces a threat, I hope it's the last one; that he'll stop while he's still alive. That he'll stop to be around to watch Morgan grow up. After Thanos, he had promised me he'd retire, and I thought that was the end of worrying that he wouldn't come home one day. He'd never admit it, but he's in so much pain these days..."

She trailed off, her words lingering and heavy. They all knew how much damage wielding the stones had done to Tony's body, how even after recovery he was nowhere near as strong as he used to be, and though he put on a brave face, it wasn't hard to see the lasting toll the final snap was taking on him. 

Nat pressed her lips in a thin line. "Go get some rest, Pepper. You haven't slept since we found out."

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep..."

"Go lie down at least. You need to be more clear-headed. I promise I'll come get you when we hear anything."

After a moment of consideration, Pepper turned and walked to the elevator. Before she could get there, the elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a very sweaty Steve Rodgers and Sam Wilson. The two stepped onto the floor, giving Pepper a nod and a sad smile in greeting, and immediately headed for the kitchen while she got into the elevator and headed for hers and Tony's floor.

Steve gave Bucky a quick hug before pulling out a glass from the cabinet.

“Oh hey, guys! How was the jog?” Peter’s voice wavered as he tried to sound casual.

Steve forced another smile as he filled the glass with water from the fridge dispenser. “Ah. You know..." He looked at the teen, his face hard. "Nothing new.”

The other faces in the room fell. They knew what he meant. While he and Sam had been out, they had been mulling over the information they had gathered so far- the video clip, the last known locations, Wong’s story about Stephen’s last sighting- nothing new had come up.

A knot formed in Peter’s stomach as he thought back to the day before, when he and Harley had tried to keep Morgan occupied and in a better mood. The day had begun playing various board games and taking a walk through a nearby park, followed by lunch and Disney movies until she fell asleep for a nap. Once she woke, they played with stuffed animals and dolls until dinner, and then a tea party until it was bedtime.

But even all the activity couldn’t distract her from what was missing; something that was obvious from the Iron Man plushie and the boy doll with the make-shift red cloak that had joined them at tea time.

_“Petey?” Morgan asked from below the covers. Harley paused in the book he was reading aloud from._

_“Yeah, Morgs?” Peter replied. His heart felt like it was being ripped in two as he saw her eyes shine bright with unshed tears._

_“When’re daddy and Uncle Stephen coming home?” Her voice was so strangled and small that it brought tears the eyes of both of the boys._

_Peter sighed, his mind racing to find the right words. “Soon, Morgs. They know exactly what to do, and they’ll be home before you know it!”_   
  


_The tears spilling over and down her cheeks, she leaned forward and threw her arms around him. “I miss them, Petey…”_

_Peter felt tears drip down his own face. He looked up at Harley who was in a similar situation, the story book clenched tightly in white knuckles. Slowly, Peter returned the embrace._

_“I know, Morgan…we miss them too…”_

Peter was snapped back to the present when he felt a vibranium arm snake around his shoulders. He glanced up, startled slightly to see Bucky next to him. The soldier leaned down slightly and whispered in his ear.

“Please don’t give up just yet. We’ll find them, kiddo. I promise they’ll be okay.”

The teen met the soldier’s gaze. God, he wanted nothing more than to believe him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you for any feedback! I'm trying to continue on a more frequent schedule here!
> 
> If anyone wants to drop any suggestions they'd like to see happen, feel free! I have most of how I want this story to go, but a suggested scene here and there can work :)
> 
> EDIT: made some tweaks since last night, realized I made Pepper a little too emotional and things a little too bleak. Apologies for those who had read the initial posting- I had had a little too much wine, and forgot the golden rule- "write drunk, edit sober."


	4. Of Water Bottles and Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The captors toss down a water bottle to Tony and Stephen, much to their surprise and suspicion.
> 
> Wong arrives at the tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter doesn't go terribly far, but I hope it's good enough!

Even in his dreams, he was alert to threats. His hands shot up and began to move, trying to form a shield to protect against the horrific visions his mind showed him. However, a painful, painful shock around his neck forced him fully awake.

Stephen screamed in pain as the shocks again tore through his skin. When they subsided, his arched back fell back onto the cold floor. His eyes shot open, though not much changed, seeing as how the sky outside their tiny window was now pitch black.

“Lemme guess…tried to pull a rabbit out of your hat in your dreams?” came Tony’s sudden remark, his voice heavy with sleep.

Stephen groaned, forcing himself to sit up and facing where Tony’s voice came from. “You can’t see me, Stark, but I’m flipping you off right now.”

Tony snorted as he struggled to push himself up as well, his neck and back protesting the action. “How long did we pass out for?”

“Hard to tell exactly, but looks like long enough for it to become nighttime.”

The inventor nodded as he stretched his aching body, trying to work out the kinks in his shoulder. “Ugh. Speaking of things that are hard to tell, I wonder how much of me hurts from sleeping on the floor, and how much hurts from being kicked in the ribs.”

Stephen half-smiled. “I’d say it’s probably a pretty even distribution.”

“…yeah, then there’s whatever got jostled from my getting rear-ended and being knocked out.”

Stephen hummed. “That’s how they got you, huh?”

Tony sighed, rubbing his temples. “Yup… I was heading home from one of those gala events, you know the ones Pep loves to force me to go to? Snuck away and got to my car with no one seeing me. It was late enough that I was alone on the highway…well, I was until someone rammed into me.” He paused before forcing out an unsteady breath. Even in the darkness of the basement, Stephen could tell how tense Tony was getting just from recalling that night. “…I pulled over and got out to talk to them… someone ran at me and clocked me in the head. Next thing I knew, I woke up here.”

Both men were silent as Stephen thought his story over. “Why didn’t your A.I.’s do anything?”

The inventor snorted. “They’re intelligence, Wizard, not security guards. The least they can do is report my disappearance to the team, but it’s not like it can grow arms and legs and attack!”

“Okay, okay. No need to get testy.” Tony opened his mouth to retort, but decided against it and turned away. “…do you think the team at least got the message?”

Tony shrugged before remembering the dark of the room. “I don’t know. I’d imagine so. Probably give cam footage, and my coordinates, but since these assholes took all my tech, that’s likely all they got to go on.”

Both captives fell into silence. Tony glanced over at Stephen’s silhouette. With nothing else to look at in the dark, empty basement, his eye traced the outline of the sorcerer, as if he were memorizing his outline. He found himself wincing when his eyes fell upon the shock collar. It certainly seemed they were dealing with at least one tech-savvy person…or would it be magic-savvy? Whatever. Bottom line, a person savvy enough to know how to stop Stephen from accessing any of his spells. 

“…you think your magician friends know you’re gone?” And Tony immediately hated the way he phrased that. Stephen barked a mirthless laugh.

“The Sorcerer Supreme suddenly vanishing? I do believe it’s a pretty safe bet that my absence is noticed….”

Tony cocked his head. “Okay, I gotta know- did you _always_ talk like a mystical asshole before the magic training, or were you always like this?”

A familiar silence filled the basement as Stephen mulled over how to answer. He never really thought about it before, but yeah, his vocabulary had changed in weird ways since his training; a gradual enough change that he never noticed…

_“…he could destroy life on a scale, hitherto undreamt of.”_

_"Did you seriously just say, ‘hitherto undreamt of’?”_

_“Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of the Cosmos?”_

The memory of their first meeting made Stephen crack a smile. Okay, maybe he noticed his vernacular change a _little._ But it never bothered him.

“Stark, if you only could’ve known me before I ventured to Kamar-Taj.” Stephen trailed off.

“…were you a less self-absorbed asshole?”

Another silence.

“No, I was an awfully pompous soul back then…”

Stephen was interrupted by the door at the top of the stairs swinging open. Both he and Tony looked in that direction, expecting the appearance of their captors.

Instead, a plastic water bottle was tossed through the door. It flew through the air, landed halfway down the steps, bounced off the middle stairs, and then fell to the floor. It rolled them, stopping when it hit Tony’s leg. Both men stared at it as the basement door was slammed shut and locked.

“Okay, how much you wanna bet this is a trick of some sort?” Tony finally asked.

Stephen didn’t take his stare from the bottle, just a silhouette in the dark, as if he expected it to sprout legs and attack the moment he looked away. “I’d say, the odds are strong.”

Without jostling it, Tony leaned down, trying to examine it, but with almost no light now, it was near impossible. “Okay, if this thing is rigged to explode, I don’t think they would’ve chucked it down here _without_ setting it off…”

“’Death by exploding water bottle.’ That would certainly be an interesting way to go…”

Ignoring his comment, Tony held his breath and picked it up. Nothing happened. It just felt like a regular water bottle. Out of reflex he tried to reach his missing hand to open the lid. Furrowing his brows in frustration, he slipped it between his thighs and tried to unscrew the top with his one hand.

“Need some help?” teased Stephen, the enjoyment evident in his voice.

As if fueled by spite alone, Tony squeezed his thighs tighter and opened the bottle, the pressure sending a small geyser of liquid onto his legs. For an agonizing moment, they froze and waited, but nothing happened; no chemical burns, no pain, it was just…water.

“Toldja I got it.”

“…You said no such thing, Stark.”

“Ah, but I _implied_ it!” He picked up the bottle and cautiously gave it a sniff. Smelled alright.

Stephen, meanwhile, was bewildered. Though Tony clearly was aware of multiple methods of harm or death that can be implemented with a goddamn water bottle, here he was letting his own face be the canary.

He jumped when he saw the silhouette of Tony moving the bottle to his mouth. “Before you drink that-”

Tony paused, bottle in mid-air. “-it smells fine.”

“So? Not all poisons are detectable from scent alone…”

The genius scowled and lowered the bottle. “Then what do you suggest, Merlin?”

Also scowling, Stephen scooted forward, and after a few tries, put his shaking hand on the bottle, forcing Tony to lower it further. “I suggest not being so trusting of people who want to _kill_ us.”

“Okay, look. They clearly said they’re taking their time with doing us in, right? So, they want us to be alive for at least a little longer, and for that, we need food and water.”

“Yes, but they could be lying through their teeth to make us think we have more time than they’re planning on giving us.”

“They could be, but either way, if we’re doomed anyhow, bottoms up!” and he took a sip. He swallowed and waited a moment before sighing in contentment at his dry throat finally having some relief. “Besides, if I die from this, you’ll know not to trust any food they give you.”

Oh how the sorcerer wished Tony could see the look he gave him. “If you die, that leaves me down a defense, since my abilities are hindered by this wretched device.” He gestured sharply to the collar.

“Don’t you get your tights in a knot, wizard. It’s fine. Want a sip?”

As soon as he said that, Stephen was suddenly aware of the painful dryness in his throat, as if his body was egging him on to accept the drink. Though he didn’t trust the bottle of water, he still held out his hand, the two men fumbling carefully in the dark to transfer the bottle between them. Stephen brought it to his lips and took a small sip. Oh, was this relief welcome!

He forced himself to only take a small sip. “We should ration it, in case they don’t give us anymore any time soon, if they…” He trailed off, the idea of not getting any more water at all left unspoken, yet ringing in both their ears.

Tony felt around for the cap, finding it and holding it out. Stephen held the water bottle upright on the floor as Tony screwed the cap onto it.

~~~

By mid-morning, everyone in the tower, with the exception of Pepper, was up and about. Everyone was occupied in some respect, but there was little to no noise; the feeling in the tower was incredibly heavy, as it was when one of their own was missing or hurt.

Harley and Peter were trying to distract themselves by playing Smash on Peter’s Nintendo Switch. (Tony’s gift to him last Christmas, which Peter had of course protested him spending so much money on him.) The sleep-deprived teens maybe let out a grunt or a happy noise every now and again, but their usual banter during matches was missing.

“I win again, Parker!” Harley grinned as Peter fell off the stage for the third time. Peter shook his head and dropped the controller onto the couch cushions beside him. “Oh come on. Best five out of seven?” His voice was hoarse. The younger met his gaze, noticing how his eyes blinking tiredly above large, dark circles, his lips quivering in a forced smile.

Peter swallowed against a lump in his throat. “I need a snack break…” he muttered, walking into the kitchen. What he found was Steve washing some of the dirty dishes, and Bucky standing in front of the counter. His flesh hand was stirring a large bowl, while his metal arm held Morgan. She had woken up just a half hour before in tears. The solider had scooped her up to comfort her, and she had refused to let him put her down. Her little hand rested on his vibranium tricep as he showed her how to make pancakes.

Peter cracked a small smile as the memory of Tony getting fitted with his new arm flashed through his mind.

_As Tony curled and flexed his vibranium fingers, Morgan began to giggle. Tony, after a moment of fumbling, pointed a metal finger at her._

_“Hey. No laughing. This is very serious business, Morguna!” But the clear sarcasm in his voice just made her laugh more._

_“What’s so funny, sweetheart?” Pepper finally asked._

_“You and Uncle Bucky could be twins!” she exclaimed._

_Bucky, who stood off to the side, felt his whole body jolt- Uncle, huh? Would Stark seriously allow her to refer to the guy who killed her grandparents as “uncle”?_

_He then caught Tony’s bewildered glance from across the room. His expression suddenly softened to something…different. Something more…friendly, perhaps?_

_“Yeah, sweetheart…I guess…I guess we could be!”_

“…okay, and once we get that mixed in, it’s time to add the eggs. Would you want to try to crack them?” Bucky asked, his voice pulling Peter out of the memory. Morgan nodded once against his chest. “Okay! Stevie, could ya grab the carton from the fridge?” The blond looked up from the pan in his hand, flashing his boyfriend an annoyed look.

“I’ll get it, Mr. Rodger-Captain-America, sir!” Peter piped up, rushing to the fridge to get the eggs.

“Queens, how many times do I have to remind you to call me Steve?”

Peter set the eggs down on the counter, opening the carton. “Why? You always call me, ‘Queens’ or ‘kiddo.’”

“Fair point.”

As Morgan reached over and grabbed the first egg, the elevator dinged. Peter walked back into the other room, just in time to see the doors open, revealing Happy and Rhodey. Wong stood with them, stepping off the elevator and observing the space around him as he spoke.

“Apologies for how long our investigation took.” He said, irritation hinted in his voice. “It would have concluded sooner, had they allowed me to open a portal for us to travel back here instead of driving…”

Nat stood and walked over to them.

“There was very little that we could find,” Rhodey began, answering her unspoken question. “Save for a security tape outside of a local deli.”

“Let’s see it.” she demanded. Rhodey took out his StarkPhone and brought up a projection of the security tape from nearly thirty hours beforehand. It showed a figure, covered in black from head to toe, slipping into a nearby alleyway. Rhodey sped up the footage to about two hours later showing Stephen leaving the deli, a plastic shopping bag in hand, and disappearing the same alleyway.

“There’s still footage from neighboring streets we need to comb through.” Happy added. “Apparently, they managed to swipe him off the streets pretty stealthy.”

“Couldn’t Wong just like, I dunno… magically…call him, or something?” Peter chimed in. The adults turned their attention to him. He blushed and looked at the ground. “I mean…there’s gotta be something like that, right?”

For a moment there was no response. Wong held his gaze on Peter, who was afraid he’d offended the sorcerer. Before his anxiety could build up, Wong took a step towards him.

“In any other circumstance, I have multiple methods of contacting the Sorcerer Supreme.” He paused. “However, the people that took him are possibly masters of the Mystic Arts themselves, as it would seem they have implemented some form of block on any attempts to reach or locate him.”

“Do we know if they’re the same people who have Tony?” asked Steve, who had emerged from the kitchen behind Peter.

“I don’t see why we’d have any reason to believe otherwise.” Natasha shrugged.

“I’d say it’s a safe bet. Look, let’s get to taking a closer look at the security tapes. Rodgers, Nat and I could use your help with that. Peter, would you mind showing Wong to one of the guest rooms?”

Peter nodded. Natasha turned and walked into the elevator, Rhodey following.

Steve glanced over his shoulder. “Buck, you coming with?”

Bucky stepped into view. “I’ve kinda got my hands full.” He gestured with his head to Morgan, who was still cradled in his arms, her tiny hand running up and down his metal arm. She looked up at the other adults in front of her.

“Hi, Uncle Wong.” She said quietly. 

Wong cocked his head. “Hello, child.”

Steve shrugged and joined Nat and Rhodey in the elevator. Peter turned to Wong, confusion clouding his features.

“Where are your bags?”

“Bags?”

“Uhh, yeah…you know, luggage? Clothing and stuff?”

His face remained stoic. “I have no need for concerns of material possessions.”

“Oh…okay, the guest rooms are this way.” The two began to walk down the hall. “I don’t think it matters which one you pick. I mean, obviously it might matter to _you,_ but I don’t think anyone _else_ would really care-”

“Since when did she start calling me her ‘uncle’?” Wong interrupted his rambling.

Peter blinked. “Um…about the same time she began calling Dr. Strange her uncle.” The sorcerer simply nodded as he absorbed the words, but Peter could swear Wong almost looked pleased with this revelation. They stopped in front of the first guest room they came across and Peter opened the door. “Well, here you go!”

“This will be perfectly fine.” Wong stepped into the room.

“Uhh I guess I’ll…I guess I’ll leave you to do…whatever is it you need to?” Peter turned to leave, but felt a hand on his shoulder, startling him slightly. He turned back around to face the older man, who looked straight into his eyes.

“I assure you, Peter, we will find them both, and we will bring them back alive. You have my word.”

The teen’s mouth opened and closed as he tried to find the right words to say. Though the others had made the same general promise, it seemed to hit harder coming from Wong. “…I… um…you don’t…” He swallowed against a knot that suddenly formed in his dry throat. “…are you sure?” His voice cracked.

Wong nodded, pausing and walking towards the large bay doors on the opposite wall. He stared out them, admiring the view of the city street beyond the balcony. “I know Stephen Strange well enough to be assured of his survival. Even if his powers are hindered, I trust that he will be able to protect himself and your Mr. Stark.” He turned slightly over his shoulder. “You must understand. Though I do not show it, his vanishing concerns me greatly. I dare even say it frightens me.”

“It does?” And Peter immediately felt like a jerk for saying that. Of course the man has feelings, even if he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve!

He simply nodded again. “Indeed. Stephen may be the Sorcerer Supreme….but he is also a dear, dear, friend of mine, and I pray to the Vishanti for his safe return.” 

The knot in Peter’s throat only seemed to grow as wetness pricked at his eyes. All he could croak out was a quiet, “… I’ll let you be, now…”

If he noticed the break in the teen’s voice, he didn’t say so. Instead he simply nodded once more, turning his full attention back to the city skyline as Peter left the room and shut the door behind him.


	5. Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a little more about the captors. Stephen helps Tony through a simple meditation when he's about to have another panic attack. The captors beat Tony up and reveal they know about a certain secret of his. 
> 
> CONTENT WARNING: CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENCE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cleaned up some of the tags, added in more relationships that are featured in this. Characters from now on will be added as they appear.
> 
> I've gotta stop staying up until 2 AM to write. Anywho, here's a new chapter!

A loud, painful scream from below him scared Jasper out of his sleep. His heart pounding out his chest, he glanced around the bedroom, ready to reach for the handgun in his bedside table. His panic turned to satisfaction as he slowly remembered the fun little device locked around Stephen’s neck.

Shoving back the blanket and getting out of the bed, he couldn’t help but think about how much work went into that thing. He didn’t even think it was _possible_ to have a collar that could block magic and shock as a reaction to it.

But then again, he reminded himself as he made his way downstairs, he should _never_ doubt his best friend’s brain!

When he and Taylor had met, Taylor had been a timid high school freshman with large bookish glasses and a hoodie that swallowed his tiny frame. The kid had been smart enough to skip ahead all throughout his life, but he preferred being around his own age group. Sadly, those kids his own age weren’t quite so nice.

A few of the other freshman had him cornered after his AP chem class one day. These kids had already had their growth spurts and enjoyed picking on the late-bloomer. That’s when junior-year Jasper, who walking down the hallway, swooped in to defend the small guy. They’d been close friends ever since, close enough that his own son called Taylor his “uncle.”

His heart clenched as his son’s face flashed through his mind.

_Push it down. Save it for later._

He stopped walking, just two stairs above the first floor, took a deep breath, and then continued.

As it turned out, having a genius as a best friend came in handy now and again. Especially when said genius was a former Stark Industries employee with a photographic memory.

Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise. His eyes flickered to the clock on the microwave- just after 5:30 AM. He went into the pantry and grabbed a water bottle, going to the top of the stairs with it.

Taylor had explained (or rather tried to explain) how the collar worked- something about a change in the sorcerer’s heartrate, muscle tension, and body temperature whenever he used his powers. Whatever. It didn’t matter. It worked, and that’s all that mattered.

Jasper unlocked the basement door, chucked the bottle down into the darkness, and closed and re-locked the door.

When he got back to the bedroom, he found Marianna sitting up and waiting for him. “Go back to sleep, honey.”

She blinked sleepily at him. “What the hell are you doing up?”

He climbed back into the bed. “The magical asshole must’ve activated the shock collar again, because he screamed me awake.”

“So I’m guessing you went down there to beat his ass?”

“Nah, tossed some water down to them.”

Marianna paused, trying to wrap her head around that. “…the guy wakes you up with his screaming, so you…give them water?”

He chuckled, lying down, facing away from her. “Eh. Can’t let ‘em die of a thirst before we get to have fun with ‘em!”

She shook her head, lying back down as well. “Yeah, I’ll never understand your thought process.”

* * *

As the sun slowly crept into the sky, light trickled into the stuffy basement, and onto Stephen, who had been sitting against the wall in a lotus pose for the past couple of hours, his eyes closed and his breathing steady.

Tony, who had been unable to get to back to sleep, watched Stephen with intense fascination- not that he had many other options, but nevertheless he was amazed that someone could be so absolutely still, silent, and calm for so long. Especially after being woken up by a shock collar that had been locked around his neck by people who wanted to kill them slowly.

Without even noticing it, Tony had matched his breathing to the sorcerer’s.

_In, two, three, hold, two three, four, five, out, two, three._

He couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. The idea of just sitting with your own thoughts made a chill run through his body. He’d done that enough times, and was heavily intent to do that as little as possible with whatever remaining time he had on this Earth.

Still, there was something to be said about how… _peaceful_ Stephen’s face was…maybe this mediation thing was alright?

He shifted awkwardly, trying to copy Stephen’s position, briefly reminded of the one time he let Pepper drag him to yoga class.

Settling his hand, palm up on his leg, he found it awkward to keep it like that. He flipped it over, doubting there was some major rule he was breaking by doing so. His eyes flickered to Stephen, watching again as the man showed no sign of movement, just a steady rhythm of breathing.

_In, two, three, hold, two three, four, five, out, two, three._

Tony let his eyes flutter closed, trying to just focus on breathing. But the more he tried to focus, the wilder his mind ran.

_In, two, three, hold, two three, four, five, out, two, three._

It had been hours since their captors had made an appearance. He couldn’t help but wonder what they had planned for them. Did they even have a plan?

_In, two, three, hold, two three, four, five, out, two, three._

He felt tired. When they came for them, would he even have the strength to fight for another day?

The irony of the idea of _this_ being what did him in made him half-smile. He couldn’t help it- he’d fought aliens, flown a nuke into a wormhole, survived an abduction by terrorists, fought a mad titan, yielded the stones…and yet, it could be some dipshits with a grudge that ended his life.

_In, two, three, four, hold, two three, four, five, out, two…_

What if this was actually it though? What if he never came home?

_In, two, three, four…. hold, two three, …uh…four, five, six, seven….out!_

_Oh god, I’m dying here. I’m so dead. What’s going to happen to my family? I-_

“Picture yourself sitting at the side of a river…” Stephen suddenly muttered. Tony’s eyes shot open, only to see the other man’s were still shut.

_How the hell does he do that?_

The genius could only stutter out, “…huh?”

“You heard me. Eyes closed. Picture yourself by a the side of a river…” Tony furrowed hi sbrow, but then did as he was told. “…there is a pile of leaves beside you…I want you to pick up one leaf and project any worries you have onto that leaf…”

Tony opened his eyes. “Are you for real?”

Stephen nodded, his eyes still shut. “Quite so. Now, if you want to avoid another panic attack, do as I say.” The genius shook his head, but shut his eyes once more. “Now pick up a leaf…project the first worry to come to your head onto it, take a deep breath in, and place it in the water in front of you as you exhale…do that with anything that comes to your mind...”

It took Tony a few tries, but he soon was able to hold something of a visual. The worries poured like rain onto the imaginary leaves, the number increasing until he found no other thoughts to drop onto them.

“Okay…” he muttered.

“Inhale once more, and on your exhale, imagine all the leaves floating downstream to the dropoff of a waterfall. Don’t stop watching until you see every leaf go over that drop…” Again, it took a few tries, the leaves seeming to reappear a few times in his mind’s eye. But soon, he was envisioning an empty stream, steadily going over a waterfall. “…whenever you’re ready, Stark, come back to the room around you and open your eyes…”

And he did. His eyes fluttered open, his breathing had returned to normal. He looked at the man in front of him who had at last opened his own eyes.

“How did you…?”

“Call it intuition. When you’ve been at this long enough, you tend to recognize these things. Luckily I was able to pull you back this time, before you fell too deep into panic.”

He nodded, slowly absorbing it. “Well…thanks?”

“Are you feeling better?”

“I mean, despite the fact that we’re still stuck in this shithole, yeah I feel great! How about you?”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been trying to come up with a way out of here…”

“That’s not an emotion.” Tony couldn’t help but notice that Stephen cracked a smile at his remark. He also couldn’t help but notice how he smiled back. He shook his head and continued. “I’ve been thinking on that since we woke up here. The grate on the window looks fragile enough to break, but that window might be too small to squeeze through.”

“If we knew what upstairs was like, and maybe what their schedule was like, that might provide more of a chance to break free…”

They were suddenly interrupted by the door being thrown open, the light being flicked on, and the sound of feet clomping down the stairs. Blearily, they looked up to find Cam and Taylor in front of them, their masks back on. Without a word, they strode towards Tony and hauled him to his feet by his one arm.

Tony bit back a cry of pain as his shoulder was almost yanked from its socket. The two impatient captors pushed him towards the stairs. “Okay, okay, I’m going up! Chill!” He took one step forward before Cam gave him a hard kick in the back of the legs, causing him to stumble and fall forward.

Before he knew what he was doing, Stephen jumped to his own feet, taking a step towards the men. “Where the hell are you taking him?” Taylor turned and glared at him, before finally speaking to their hostages for the first time.

“Sit down. Shut up.” He angrily shoved Stephen back to the floor before whipping back around.

Stephen’s hands flew out instinctively to catch himself, causing pain to jolt through them once he landed. He gasped as he collapsed onto the floor, biting his lip so hard it bled.

“Would you leave him alone?” Tony snapped at the captors, who seized his arm and stump, leading him up the stairs and flicking the lightswitch. “I didn’t mean it literally, do you bozos not understand-” The door was thrown shut, cutting off his words.

When the pain subsided and Stephen caught his breath, he forced himself to sit back up, staring at the stairs. The idea crossed his mind to astro-project, but he stopped himself; the collar would likely not allow that. Instead, he resigned to sitting as still as he could, listening carefully as the captors brought Tony into the room above.

* * *

It was obvious before that they were being held in a simple suburban house, but Tony still felt disappointed, if not a little insulted when he saw the first floor. He’d been held in several different locations and set-ups in his life, and they all usually had a little more to them than some little house on a quiet street.

Taylor and Cam him tossed him onto the ground in what appeared to be a living room, where Jasper and Marianna were waiting, the former holding some rope. He wasted no time in forcing Tony onto his stomach, painfully wrenching his one arm behind him, and tying it to his ankles. 

“Well, well, nice little place you’ve got here…” he grumbled, squirming in his bonds. “Comfy accommodations, too.”

Just like he had done the day prior, the Jasper kicked him in the side. He didn’t stop at one, he kept going until Tony felt at least two of his ribs crack. He couldn’t help but groan in pain.

“Aww, is the big bad Iron Man in pain?” mocked Marianna before shoving him onto the side that had the injured ribs.

Yet through all the pain, Tony couldn’t help but remark, “You know, I’ve had women top me before. This is nothing new.”

Jasper kicked his sneaker off and ripped off his sock before jamming it into Tony’s mouth. He grabbed him by the hair, lifting his head up to look him in the face. “Don’t you _dare_ say things like that to my wife, or we’ll make sure to take out your vocal cords first. Are we clear?” Tony’s expression went from startled to defiant. He dared look his captor in the eyes. Marianna reached forward and slapped him across the face, making sure to scratch his cheek with her long nails. Jasper growled and dropped him. “Even gagged, you can’t stop your bullshit!”

“You will show my husband some respect!” she snapped at the captive. “Feel lucky we’re just going after you two, and not Banner…” she smirked. “…or your precious little Peter Parker.” Tony’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “That’s right, Mr. Stark…we know _all_ about your little spider-intern.”

As Tony laid there frozen in shock, Cam laughed. “Aww, looks like we struck a nerve! What’s wrong, Stark? Got nothing to say now that you know that we know?”

But Tony had a lot to say, none of those things being very nice. Unfortunately, any words he yelled were well muffled by the sock.

“Don’t worry. We’re leaving the kid out of this… for now.” Came Taylor’s remark. He had been hanging back in the corner, watching the scene unfold. He stalked forward. “But don’t you think he’s off the hook. You know what they say, Stark…an eye for an eye…” Slowly, he crouched down. “It won’t bring back my nephew, no, but it’ll feel damn good.”

“Maybe if you’re lucky, we’ll grab him and bring him here while you’re still alive.” Cam interjected. “Let you watch as we beat the ever-loving shit out of him until he stops moving.” His eyes were almost glittering as he continued. “Let you feel that loss before-”

“Okay, dude, let’s step back for a moment.” Jasper said with a laugh, throwing his hand up in front of the shorter man’s face. Cam glared at him, but stopped. “How about we quit with the small talk and show our guest a good time, hmm?”

* * *

When they finally dragged him back to the basement, Stephen almost didn’t recognize him. His nose was even worse than before, and around both of his eyes were turning purple. Dried blood covered his face. The rough rope still hung loosely around his ankles. Upon seeing his state, Stephen went immediately into doctor-mode and raised his shaking hands to try to assess the older man’s injuries, but Tony was a little faster and grabbed hold of his wrists, gently clutching them in his hand. He lowered them before taking hold of one of the hands, gently massaging it.

The doctor hissed in pain, but shook his head when Tony stopped. “No, no…keep…keep going…” and he did. Working the kinks out of his injured hands was always the worst. Stephen, however, found himself getting distracted from the movement of the large, rough, calloused hand on his own, that the pain seemed to vanish fast.

The silence, though familiar at this point, was deafening. “Are…are you okay enough to do that?”

Tony didn’t stop his motions. “No. But I’m doing it, no matter what you say.”

And the room returned to silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sigh* Tony always seems to shove his own pain aside...he doesn't get enough recognition for that, does he?
> 
> I hope I'm not making the captors too cartoon-y, by the way. It's honestly been awhile since I've written a fleshed-out original character. Feedback is appreciated, so is any criticism!


	6. What Truly Matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team finds possible leads from the security footage.   
> Stephen and Tony find themselves pointlessly bickering again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's a little shorter than I would've liked, but here it is! 
> 
> Hope everyone had a happy and safe (aka socially distanced and coming-out-with-all-your-fingers) holiday weekend!

“Go back to tape six, at about oh-four-hundred…” Rhodey instructed. Nat maximized one of the screens and rewound the footage it displayed; a one-way road in downtown Manhattan, shrouded in darkness. “Okay, slow it down…” It played back at half speed, and after a minute showed the silhouette of a dark vehicle turning onto the street. This was about the fifth time they’d watched this clip, but they felt certain that car matched well enough with another dark car that they had tracked through various security cameras within a five mile perimeter of the deli where Stephen had vanished.

Hovering in front of them was a hologram of a large map of the area, marked with camera locations. A rout the familiar shape had taken was beginning to form.

As they watched the slowed footage once again, Steve gestured to the silhouette. “I believe that’s our friend there.” He marked the street and camera on the map, connecting it with an adjoining street.

“I’ll never understand why people don’t invest in good-quality cameras.” remarked Clint, taking a bite of the sandwich in his hand. The archer had joined them in checking out the tapes about an hour into the task.

“I guess people are selfish enough to spend only the minimum of what’s needed to cover their own asses in case things go wrong.” Rhodey mused, his eyes never leaving the screen. “Hold up! Can you rewind a few seconds? Go frame-by-frame.” Nat did just that. “Stop! Right there! See that?” The rear bumper of the black car was now in full view, the pale yellow of a New Jersey license plate catching in a streetlamp. “FRIDAY, can we enhance this image and zoom in to where the license plate is?”

The AI almost sounded excited. “My pleasure, Colonel. Enhancing…”

The image became slightly clearer, revealing blurry, yet just legible numbers and letters.

“Alright, so we might have our first identifying detail.” Nat remarked.

“Maybe and maybe not.” Steve interjected. “First, we can’t be entirely sure this is our guy. We haven’t even seen that dark figure from the alley way, yet.”

“Well I don’t think he’d step out of the car in his dark clothing. Even in early-morning hours, he’d look quite conspicuous.”

“She’s got a point, Cap. Go further on the tapes. We oughta catch _someone_ leaving the car.” Clint suggested, stuffing the last bit of sandwich into his mouth on his final word.

Rhodey threw a look of disgust his way, to which Clint met with a look of a confusion. The colonel sighed before turning back to the screens

It only took another twenty minutes to spot a man in black shoes, black pants, and a grey flannel over a black shirt exiting the parked car. He cautiously looked around before heading across the street.

Nat hit the freeze-frame when the guy’s face was completely in view. She then pulled up another freeze-frame of the black hooded figure that had vanished into the alley. She placed the side-by-side, their heights and body shapes too similar for coincidence. “Got ya…”

~~~~

“Sorry, Tony. That’s about all I can do at this time.”

“Well, you’re working with limited resources at the moment…” Tony sniffled, pressing the bloody sock closer to where his nose was bleeding, before his face twisted up in disgust. “I just wish those resources weren’t so sweaty.” He tossed the sock into the corner.

Stephen rolled his eyes before he glanced over the inventor’s naked torso, once more running shaking hands over his ribs. “Your nose and lip seem to be the worst in terms of outward bleeding. Everything else seems to be internal. You likely have fractured ribs at this point.”

“Oh goody. My favorite.”

The sorcerer’s face twisted in annoyance. “Is there some part of your brain that forces you to reply to everything with sarcasm or some insult?”

“Ya know, at this point, I wouldn’t doubt it.”

He stopped running his hands down Tony’s body, sitting back on his heals. “Our situation is dire enough. We don’t need your attitude to make it worse.”

Laughing mirthlessly, Tony tried to pull his torn shirt back on. After failing a few times, Stephen reached over to help him, the two of them having to work together to do up enough of the buttons to have it stay on. Tony winced as injured parts of his body were touched. “Dire. Please! You clearly don’t know what ‘dire’ means, yet, you faced Thanos!”

Stephen recoiled. “I’d certainly mark being stuck with vengeful, blood-thirsty people as ‘dire.’”

“Again, we’ve battled much, much, worse and came out on top!”

The sorcerer scowled. “It wasn’t just us two alone on the battlefield with my magic hindered and your arm gone!”

“So I guess that’s what qualifies as ‘dire’, huh? You’re the Keeper of the Time Stone, but I didn’t know you were also Keeper of the English Language.”

“It hardly matters what the meaning of ‘dire’ is in truth, but what does it our being held prisoner here, you are hurt, and I have no abilities to protect us! Enough with this childish argument!” Tony opened his mouth to retort, but instead snapped it shut and stared at the floor. Stephen muttered, “The least you can do is say, ‘thank you’ to me for taking care of you…”

“I have!”

“In a very dry and passive way, yes, you did.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, maybe I oughta consult the rulebook of gratitude.”

“And here we go again with the sarcasm…”

“You seem to have some bruised ego, doc!”

Stephen felt his temper shoot up like a geyser. “Any ‘ego’ I had was destroyed in my accident!”

Tony visibly deflated. “…accident?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know, Stark. If I recall, your company always made large donations to New York’s top hospitals. Surely you must’ve gotten word of the renowned surgeon, Stephen Strange and why he suddenly ‘retired’?”

“My company has made countless donations to multiple hospitals. If we get out of this alive, I can have Pepper show you the books. I can assure you, however, I have absolutely no idea of which hospitals or when. That’s not my department.” He stared the doctor down. “Besides, ‘one-who claims-to-have-no-ego,’ why do you care? If you’re so truly enlightened, you wouldn’t care who knows your name!” Stephen’s face didn’t change, but he simply looked away. Tony watched him curiously; when he remained silent, he continued. “Face it, you’re just the same, arrogant man you’ve always been before this ‘accident….’”

“You don’t know that!”

“It takes an arrogant asshole to know one, buddy. And I can see, you’re no more of a saint than I am, but at least I’m man enough to admit it!”

The silence reigned in the basement again, but the heaviness it carried felt different. Stephen angrily faced the opposite wall, his body rigid with pent up anger.

Or was it anger? Tony couldn’t tell. He could never read this man. The few times they’d met, it had always been business. Tony always found something intriguing yet slightly frightening about how emotionless the doctor always was. This man kept his emotions locked away in a vibranium box, and he couldn’t find a key.

Did he really even want to, though? Maybe. It was as tempting as a child debating on going into their parents’ closet to sneak a look at their Christmas gifts- infinite possibility behind a locked door, forbidden to be viewed by those on the other side of it.

Maybe it was because he knew there was hurt behind that steely gaze. It was something he knew too well, only he hid his behind sunglasses for the longest time.

After what felt like a lifetime, Stephen suddenly spoke, his voice in a whisper so hoarse, it’s like the very act of speaking the words brought him great pain. “It was my fault.”

Startled, Tony could only reply, “…Pardon?”

“The car crash. I was…on call with someone at work and had had a few drinks beforehand. I was overly confident with my driving. I looked away for a second to view x-rays sent to me, smashed into someone else on a mountain road…” He sucked on his bottom lip, tears threatening to spill over. “…and that was all I remember before waking up with both of my hands in stiff casts…”

_And my life changed forever._

Tony’s face slowly morphed into shock. He had barely known anything about the Sorcerer Supreme, the man with the locked up emotions. Now here he was, his story pouring out.

“Perhaps you are right, Stark,” Stephen continued. “I am no less arrogant than before I ventured to Kamar-Taj. But understand, the reason for my arrogance is not what it used to be. I am the protector of Earth. I fight against any and all that threaten the very fabric of your reality… but perhaps that’s gone to my head as well…”

“ _What is your job, exactly, besides making balloon animals?”_

_“Protecting your reality, douchebag.”_

Both men faced opposite walls as Stephen’s words faded.

“…I honestly… had no idea about what happened to you, Wizard…” Tony whispered, his voice devoid of any snark or humor. Turning to look at him, he went on, “…if it means anything…I’m sorry.”

Hearing the great Tony Stark actually apologize made Stephen want to laugh. Or maybe cry; he wasn’t sure which. He glanced over his shoulder.

“You’re apologizing?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s generally the idea behind saying, ‘I’m sorry!’” He caught himself, not wanting to start another pointless argument. “Strange, for what it’s worth, I do appreciate you trying to care for me as best as possible. If it helps you, I’ll try to lighten up on the sarcasm. I mean, at least towards you. Those fuckers upstairs, however, that’s a different story.”

“As long as you don’t get yourself killed in the process, I say go for it.”

Tony smiled sadly. “My point is, we’re only going to get through this if we stick together and stop this fighting.”

“Indeed.”

“So…how about we try to…not be dicks to each other in general? We got it rough enough here, right? Truce?”

Stephen glanced over at him, a smile forming on his own face. “More than truce.” Now it was Tony’s turn to smile. “Also, Tony, I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to be so arrogant.”

“Eh, you are what you are, doc. The important thing is how you utilize it!”

“Just…for my sake, please tell me if you accept my apology.”

Their eyes met yet again. “Of course I do!”

In lieu of shaking hands, their smiles brightened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay they're gonna stop their attitude towards each other! And yay the team might have something to go on!


	7. A Memory, A Meal, A Match

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Stephen finally get some food and discuss the idea of escape; the team finds out the identity of one of the captors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this seems a little slow in read, but I'm hoping it ends up worth it!!

The dinner table was strangely silent, as the excitement from earlier that day died down.

Taylor peeked at his friends as he picked at his General Tso’s chicken. He watched as Jasper tried for the millionth time to pick up a dumpling with his chopsticks, his wild blonde curls obscuring his furrowed brow. Finally giving in, Jasper held both sticks together and stabbed them through the dumpling.

“Practicing for when you have Strange under your knife?” Taylor asked quietly, smiling slightly. His friend looked at him, an angry huff his only reply.

Swallowing her mouth full of noodles, Marianna remarked, “Ya know, you seem pretty pissed off for a guy that just got to beat the shit out of a person he swore revenge against.”

He slammed his chopsticks into another piece of food, most of it breaking off when he lifted it up. “I am NOT.”

“Ah, he’s always agitated. What else is new?” Cam snorted, licking some soy sauce from his finger.

“Shut it!”

“Okay! Let’s take about twenty steps back here!” Marianna placed her hand gently on her husband’s arm, softening her voice. “What’s got you this way, baby?”

Jasper scrunched up his face like a child pouting over not getting an extra cookie, before he gave in. “…his fucking attitude…”

Cam rolled his eyes. “So Stark’s got an attitude. We knew this going in!”

He shot up out of his chair, bracing himself on the table in front of him with his fists. “You don’t get it! He clearly thinks this is some sort of game!”

“Well, he won’t be thinking that when he’s clinging to the last little bit of life he’s got. You wanted to take your time with it, of course he’s not gonna roll over and take it! Neither will that magical asshole!”

At this, Jasper visibly deflated. “You’re right. I did say we oughta take our time, and now _I’m_ being impatient.”

Taylor looked around at everyone. “Are we eating the white rice?”

Trying again to use the chopsticks, Jasper shook his head. “We never do, dude!”

“Fair enough.” He stood up, taking the small container over to the counter where their ski masks had been discarded earlier. As he pulled his over his head, the others glanced his way. “What? If we’re still keeping them alive, they’re not gonna last too long without _some_ form of food.

“Good point.” Marianna stood and handed him another container. “Might as well give ‘em this. This place’s beef with broccoli is way too dry for my liking.”

“I like that!” Cam practically whined.

“Oh, can it!” She turned back to Taylor. “You want some assistance with this?”

He shook his head and made his way to the door, grabbing the key that hung on a hook nearby. “It’s just food, Mary. If they haven’t been able to attack when we’re threatening them, I highly doubt they’ll attack now when I’m giving them their only meal.” He unlocked the door and vanished into the basement, shutting the door behind him.

Marianna sighed before looking back at her step-brother. “Ya always did like dry shit. Dry wine, dry weather, the quarter-back’s dick…”

“That was one time!”

“…and the guy said at our reunion that he’s still never been with someone so unenthusiastic…”

~~~~

Stephen watched Tony’s chest slowly rising and falling as he slept, lightly snoring. The inventor was no doubt exhausted from his injuries, and the lack of food didn’t help much. The doctor also felt his head grow heavy with sleep, to the point where being awake was starting to hurt, but the pure terror that had coursed through him the couple of times he thought Tony had stopped breathing kept him fighting to stay awake.

In the dim light, he could still see Tony’s scars that covered the right side of his neck and face. They had long-since healed and were starting to lose the redness in color. It only seemed like it’d been a day since they’d started to close up.

_Stephen was standing in Tony’s room at the MedBay, talking about his recovery progress. In his slightly shaking hands were the latest test results. “Once you have regained full mobility and feeling in your right side, we could discuss removal of the scars…”_

_Tony waved his hand. “No thanks, doc! I’m not concerned about it!”_

_Pepper looked at her husband, the surprise on her face reflecting that which Stephen felt. “Honey, are you sure?”_

_“I’ve never been more sure of anything…okay, no, that’s a lie, but I am fine with this…besides, Pep…I think I’ve been through more than enough procedures for a lifetime.” His wife smiled, before leaning down to kiss him lovingly. Stephen turned his face away. Pulling his lips just a half inch away, Tony added, “Besides that, I still think I look quite handsome. If anything, I just look edgier. Like, have you ever seen Fury without his eyepatch?”_

_Pepper cut him off by kissing him again. “You are always handsome, Tony.”_

_Stephen slightly turned back to the couple, eyeing the scars along his face and the smile that interrupted them. He silently slunk out of the room, giving the couple some privacy._

The sorcerer now looked at his scarred face once more. He couldn’t stop a tiny smile from gracing his face. There was no denying the truth in Pepper’s words.

He was pulled from this thoughts and Tony was startled awake by basement door being opened and the light flicking on. Stephen pushed himself to his feet, biting back a cry of pain as he put too much pressure on his hands doing so. Just before he could move to try to conjure a shield, he stopped himself, his hand unconsciously flying to his collar-clad neck.

Taylor made his way down the stairs, the ski mask obscuring his face and two takeout containers in his hand. He couldn’t help but smile sadly at Stephen’s touching the collar.

“Nasty little thing, isn’t it?” His voice was filled with a confidence that felt slightly forced. The captives just stared at him, neither letting their guard down. He didn’t seem phased. “Hey, it does what it’s meant to do, and that’s more than I can say for some other things in this world.”

“This is of your own design?” Stephen breathed, though it was more statement than question.

Taylor shrugged one shoulder, trying to keep his face neutral. “I plead the fifth. Here” He set down the containers. “Enjoy it.” Tony and Stephen looked at the food suspiciously, then back up at Taylor, who sighed, his demeanor shifting to a more resolved appearance. “Okay, I get it. I wouldn’t trust me, either.” He bent down, pulled the top from the beef with broccoli and ate a piece. “There! It’s fine, see? Eat. I know you’re hungry.”

“And why would you care about us being hungry?” Stephen asked.

Shaking his head, the captor stood back up, again snapping back to that overly-confident air. “I have my reasons, Strange.” He looked over at Tony. “Stark. You might wanna keep your mouth shut. It’ll just make things worse for you if you don’t.” And with that, he turned and went back upstairs, this time leaving the light on.

The two captives exchanged confused glances before Stephen made his way to the containers. He tried to pick them up, only his hands shook too much. He settled for gently pushing them with his foot over to where Tony was sitting on the floor, before joining him down there, sitting cross-legged on front of him. “I don’t believe it’s a good idea to ration these, considering they’ll spoil quickly.”

Tony only nodded in reply as he carefully opened the rice. When Stephen tried to pick up a piece of broccoli with his aching, trembling hands, the genius shook his head, picking up and a piece and holding it out to the sorcerer. “I gotcha doc.”

The younger man’s face contorted into an expression of embarrassment mixed with gratefulness, and he opened his mouth, allowing Tony to feed him. After giving Stephen a piece of food, Tony’d eat one himself, and continued back and forth, even when Stephen’s hands had significantly calmed, until both containers were empty.

“Thank you…” Stephen muttered after the last bit of food had been eaten. Tony cracked a smile.

“Don’t mention it.” He leaned against the wall as they sat, for a moment just enjoying the feeling of food in their stomachs.

“By the way, you…seemed strangely quiet earlier. I thought for sure you’d have something unpleasant to say to him.”

The older man paused. “I was listening to his voice. It sounded weirdly familiar.”

“Are you telling me you know that man?”

“I’m telling you it’s _possible._ I could be mistaking his voice for someone else’s, but at the same time…” He trailed off, finishing the sentence with a simple expression to say _anything is possible._

Stephen simply nodded before reaching over to where their water bottle sat. He held it upright on the floor while Tony unscrewed the cap. “Remember, just a sip.”

“I know, I know. I listen to the doctor’s orders!” Tony laughed, taking his sip, fighting the urge to drink more. He held out the bottle to the other man, who reached for it. “Ah, ah, ah, let me.”

“Tony, I think I can handle this myself-”

“Doc, they may be shaking less, but you still landed pretty hard on them earlier. Let me help you.” He moved the bottle slightly closer to Stephen’s mouth, who rolled his eyes in resolve and let Tony give him the water.

Once they’d closed the bottle in the same manner they’d opened it, Stephen joined Tony in leaning against the wall.

“It’s a very simple house.” Tony said suddenly.

“Pardon?”

“Where we’re at. I saw when they dragged me upstairs earlier. The basement door is right next to the kitchen, and there’s a clear path to the front door if you turn right. Sharp left, and there’s a hallway leading to the living room.”

“It sounds like you’re indicating an escape route.”

“It’s not indication if I’m outright saying it.” He caught the half-smile on Stephen’s face. “Now of course it’s a matter of ‘when’.”

“I’d say it’s more of a matter of ‘how.’”

“What do you mean, _how?_ We find one weak moment, make a break for it, run out the door, and make a shit ton of noise to alert the neighbors!”

Stephen stared at him incredulously. “Stark, in case it’s escaped your notice, there are two of us, and four of them. We don’t know where we are, or if there _are_ neighbors around. You’re injured and in pain, I’m in a shock collar-”

“-there are neighbors. Have you looked through that window? You can see the tops of other houses. I’d say the probability of anyone living there is pretty high.”

“I still think we’re better off waiting. You seem to have enough faith in your team to find us.”

“I do. Don’t get me wrong, doc, but…you can’t tell me you haven’t had those thoughts of how to get out of here quicker.”

He sighed. “You are correct, Stark. You are correct.”

They both fell silent.

“Maybe if we can somehow pry information on the damn collar from its creator, we can figure out how to get it off you…or at the very least, shut it off.”

The only response the sorcerer gave was a low grunt, before the quiet filled the basement once more.

~~~~~~~

Taylor locked the door behind him, putting the key back on the hook before turning to see Cam putting plates into the sink.

“Ya feed the damn animals?” he sneered, scrubbing at a pan. Taylor nodded.

“Where’d the lovebirds go?”

“Oh, you know how they are. They’re upstairs, probably crying over that picture of him. Like staring at it for hours on end is gonna somehow bring the kid back to life.”

Sounds of angry bickering from overhead caught their attention. They both looked up towards the ceiling.

“I guess they’ve moved on to their other favorite pastime.” Taylor muttered before a slam of the bedroom door echoed throughout the house. An angry Jasper stomped down the stairs and into the kitchen, ripping the door to the fridge open and grabbing a bottle of vodka.

“Dude, that’s not gonna help, and you know it!” Cam cautioned.

“Shut up!” Jasper unscrewed it and took a swig.

“What happened up there?” Taylor asked calmly.

Jasper sneered. “Oh I’ll tell ya what happened! The bitch thinks I’m being _soft_ with ‘em! And that my anger 'clearly shows that!' As if she didn’t aid me in kicking Stark’s ass just a few hours ago!” He downed another few gulps, slamming the bottle on the counter. Some of it splashed out onto his hand. He hissed as it seeped into a small cut near one of his cuticles. When it stopped stinging, he looked at his hand for a moment, as if in thought, and then at the basement door, walking to grab the key. “She wants rough, I’ll show ‘em _rough!_ ”

~~~~~~

“Match. Facial recognition confirmed. Images are a one-hundred percent match to one Taylor Lee Patterson. Age forty-two. Born and currently residing in Newark, New Jersey. Registration records indicate he is indeed the sole owner of the vehicle in question.”

As FRIDAY read the results out loud, a file photo of Taylor popped up on the screen in front of them.

“That’s our guy?” Clint laughed.

“It would appear so.” Steve confirmed. “FRIDAY, what other information you have on this guy?”

“Accessing. It would appear Patterson has an exceptional IQ, graduated as valedictorian from Stanford University, and was a one-time intern at Stark Industries.”

Everyone in the room froze.

“Okay. So this guy’s evidently got some work-related grudge against Tony. How original.” Rhodey scoffed.

“Doesn’t exactly tell us about what he wants or how he’s connected to Strange.” Nat remarked. “Or if he’s even the one holding them. He could just be the errand boy.”

“Well, maybe we should drop by his place and find out?” Clint suggested.

Rhodey spun around to look at him. “Barton, we don’t know who this guy truly is, or who he’s working with. For all we know, he could have ties to some new whackjob from space.”

Steve nodded in agreement. “Then maybe a stake-out is required. FRIDAY, activate protocol, ‘Avengers, Assemble!’”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHH HE SAID THE THING!!!
> 
> Hope to keep posting at this rate! Lemme know what you all think!


	8. A New Low

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper hurts Stephen, and then brings back some horrific memories for Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: this chapter contains graphic violence, torture, and PTSD flashbacks!

In his rage, Jasper missed the lock several times before finally jamming the key into it and opening it, slamming the door open. The light was still on, letting him see his captives jump with the loud noise. He laughed as he descended the stairs.

“Aww, what’s wrong, fellas? Not happy to see me?” His tone was sickeningly sweet, mocking the two startled captives who now eyed him. Tony unconsciously gripped Stephen’s elbow, at the same time the latter leaned forward to try to shield the former. Their captor walked up to them, his steps slightly crooked as the vodka hit. “Well, Stark? Where are your silly quips now? Or did we finally beat them out of you?” He met Tony’s hard gaze. When the hero didn’t flinch, Jasper’s anger boiled. He grabbed Tony’s chin roughly. “You will answer me when I talk to you!”

Tony defiantly spit in his face, immediately being backhanded as a result. Stephen automatically reached for Tony, but Jasper was faster, grabbing the hand of the sorcerer and pulling it down to the floor.

“Let go.” Stephen kept his tone neutral, but his voice still quivered. Jasper pushed down on his hand, digging his fingernails into it, smiling gleefully as he watched Stephen try not to scream.

“And who’s gonna make me? You? Oh that’s right, you can’t!” He flicked the metal collar around the sorcerer’s throat. “Not even your little magician friends can help you. Why would they even want to help a useless piece of shit like you? Someone who can’t even hold a pen?” He tightened his grip on his hands for emphasis.

Stephen gritted his teeth, swallowing a scream with every word he breathed. “…I’m… Sorcerer… Supreme! ...pens…don’t matter!”

His captor snickered. “Sure, sure. Keep telling yourself that!”

“…haven’t you done enough for one day?” he grunted, daring to look him in the eye.

Jasper threw a glance at Tony, who remained on the ground where he landed after being struck. Tony again glared at him, fire in his eyes, but said nothing.

“To you, no. To your little friend…” He considered his words. “Also no. But let’s start with you, shall we?” And with that, he balled the hand on top of Stephen’s into a fist, bringing up and slamming it down.

Stephen’s vision almost went white as the already fragile hand felt like it had been hit with a hot iron. His jaw dropped open as he gasped for air, unable to even scream. Seeing his reaction, Jasper brought down his fist again. And again. An almost animalistic cry came from Stephen’s throat before he slumped over, passing out.

Jasper frowned. “Aww. It’s no fun when they can’t feel it.” He set his sights on Tony. “At least we still have you, right?” He glanced over his shoulder at Taylor and Cam, who stood on the steps. Cam had pulled his ski mask on, and Taylor hadn’t removed his. Jasper faltered a moment, feeling his face for his. “Ah shit. Whatever, it’s not gonna matter soon, right Stark?” Tony still said nothing, just steeled his gaze. His captor snarled, gripping the genius by the hair. “No comment? Well that’s just fine! There are certainly ways to make someone talk!”

Taylor recoiled as if he’d been slapped. “You…you’re seriously gonna-”

“You thought I was kidding when I suggested it?”

Tony’s heart jumped into his throat. Something in his gut told him whatever they were talking about was bad. Really, really bad.

“…that’s low, man…even for you.” Taylor said quietly.

Jasper dropped his hold on Tony, fire raging in his eyes as he stalked over to his friend. “Low? Ya know what’s lower? You wanna know what’s _lower_? Killing innocent people, killing my _son…_ and being hailed as fucking _heroes_ for it!” While he ranted, Tony noticed Stephen’s eyes fluttering open and he began crawling to him. Taylor stepped backwards as his friend yelled, holding up his hands placatingly, but Jasper didn’t let up. “You agreed to this. You knew well what the plan was. Don’t play the ‘good guy,’ Taylor!”

_Taylor? Why does that sound familiar?_

As Tony helped the sorcerer sit up as he came to, the captor stomped back over to them and wasted no time in yanking Tony away, tossing him aside like nothing, and delivering a painful kick to Stephen’s lower left side. Cam, who had made it fully down the stairs, joined in by punching the sorcerer in the face, knocking him onto the side that had just been kicked. When his other hand hit the floor, Cam lifted his boot-covered foot and stomped on it, the sickening sounds of bones crunching echoing throughout the room.

No sooner had he landed the stomp that Tony jumped on his back, hooking his legs around his torso and punching and scratching his face. Having one arm, however, meant Tony lacked the balance to hang on, and Cam, after flailing about for a moment, was able to knock the genius back onto the floor, nearly toppling over with him. Before Tony could get up, Jasper grabbed hold of him once more.

“Get the magical fucker!” Jasper sneered as he dragged Tony to the stairs, while Cam grabbed hold of Stephen, who was trying to breath through the pain of his rebroken fingers. The inventor struggled to try to get on his feet, but instead found himself getting scraped up by the unfinished wooden stairs.

Taylor who was now at the top of the stairs watched, his stomach churning sickly as Jasper marched past him, and soon after Cam, with Stephen thrown over his shoulder, the struggling captive trying to avoid having his head be dragged on the floor, due to their difference in height.

In all the commotion, Marianna made an appearance in her bathrobe. Her teeth were gritted and there was a glint of uncertainty in her eyes. Nevertheless, she casually walked over to her husband.

“Well, well. Someone grew a sack in a record amount of time!” She gave Jasper a quick peck on the lips before turning to head back up the stairs, her legs slightly wobbly. “Don’t make too much of a mess, boys.”

Jasper took this as his cue to drag Tony down the hall to the bathroom, where he was dropped unceremoniously beside the bathtub.

Tony grunted in pain as his head bumped the tile floor. He glanced around the bathroom, his vision doubling and fading back to normal.

“Unhand him! What do you sick bastards get out of this?” was Stephen’s angry demand, as Cam held his injured hands behind him, forcing him to face the bathroom. “Why not just kill us now?”

There was no answer. Or maybe there was, and Tony didn’t hear it, as the loud, unmistakable sound of water filling the tub roared in his ears. Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, Jasper yanked him up by the shoulders and forced his face down into the cold water.

“Tony!” Stephen cried out.

Tony’s body reacted before his mind did. He began to thrash and fight for breath. His already-fuzzy mind was starting to fade.

_Notgoodnotgoodnotgoodnotgood_

Shoved in with his eyes fully open, at first all he saw was the white porcelain of the tub. One slow second later, and it suddenly looked dark and rusty. Through the water, he heard muffled shouts of his name from someone he thought he could recognize…whose voice was that? It was slowly being drowned out by shouts from many people in a foreign language.

So many people. When did all those people get there?

More hands were on him then. So many hands. The bright light of the bathroom dimmed rapidly to a dull glow.

Just before he blacked out, he was yanked back from the water. As he gasped for breath, he could feel the air around him had turned warm and soupy. The barrel of a military-grade weapon was jammed in his back. He forced his eyes open, and all he could see were dirty cave walls. The angry foreign shouts became louder and clearer from masked faces surrounding him before he was shoved back under the water once more.

His struggles were dwindling as his energy was running out. He managed to make out someone yelling his name.

… _Yinsen?_

Pulled back from the water once more, Tony gasped for breath, looking down at his chest. The large empty spot that once glowed blue sent him into a panic. He could feel a dense piece of metal somewhere deep in his chest, slowly sinking deeper and deeper inward. He gasped desperately for breath, feeling the shrapnel slowly pierce his heart. He was going to go into cardiac arrest any second. He was going to die here!

Through all the shouts, a cold voice was suddenly in his ear, speaking in English.

“Having a little déjà vu, aren’t we, Stark?”

A wicked grin came into his field of vision before he slammed his eyes shut.

When he opened his eyes, the shouts were gone, as were the extra pairs of hands and the gun at his back. In fact, so was the bathroom.

Instead of bathroom tile, he was lying on his back on a cement floor, his head resting on the thigh of Stephen Strange, who brushed wet hair off his forehead with a shaking hand, the fingers barely moving. It was as if they were simply being dragged limply across his face.

“Tony. Tony can you hear me?”

The inventor blinked, unable to remember how he got back down there. He wracked his mind, trying to figure out how he’d gotten from being almost drowned upstairs to being back down here. It was like a jump cut of a movie.

He stared up at Stephen’s grey eyes that shined with concern, noticing the dark bruise forming underneath one of them, and the dried blood streaked on his face. The sorcerer gingerly helped him sit up as he tried hard to absorb what happened. Water dripped from his hair into his eyes as he stared down at his lap. He wasn’t sure when the water stopped being from the tub and started being from his own eyes, but soon silent tears streamed down his cheeks.

As Stephen realized what was happening, he found himself carefully reaching out to the inventor, hands shaking as they hovered near him, unsure how Tony would receive being touched. The answer came when Tony suddenly flung himself into his arms and started to cry, the painful sobs muffled by Stephen’s shoulder.

Startled by suddenly having an armful of Tony, Stephen slowly, almost mechanically, wrapped his arms around the older man, trying not to put too much pressure on his hands. Leaning back against the wall, he carefully maneuvered them so he was sitting with his legs open on either side of Tony, allowing him to get closer.

Driven by the need to say something, anything, he muttered into the genius’ hair, “Let it out, Tony. It’s okay.” The only response he got was the hand clutching onto his shirt tightening. He tightened his hold on the man as well, finding his own muscles slowly getting less tense the longer they stayed like that.

It might’ve been a few minutes or a few hours, but Tony eventually cried himself out, his mind beyond exhausted from shifting from his memories to the current day. His grip on the sorcerer’s shirt loosened and let go as he drifted off to sleep. Stephen didn’t loosen his hold, though. His thought process was to lay the genius down on the floor, but his body refused to cooperate, instead holding and gently rocking Tony, eventually drifting off himself, his face resting in Tony’s hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hurt me. I already hurt me by writing this.


	9. A Long Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers discuss their next move. 
> 
> Tony tries to get Stephen to confess that he's hurt.
> 
> Jasper has flashbacks of the day that changed his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to post yesterday in honor of Benedict Cumberbatch's birthday, but I had too much going on to edit the chapter....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....
> 
> So, a chapter in honor his birthday a day late!  
> Happy belated, Biscuitnoodle Cuminpatch!

The common floor was packed. Steve stood front and center of the area everyone usually occupied during movie nights, with Rhodey on his left and Nat on his right. The large couch held Pepper, who had not said a word since she’d woken up a few hours before. To one side of her was May Parker, who had become one of the few people Pepper fully confided in throughout Tony’s recovery. Peter sat on the floor in front of them, twisting his Spiderman mask nervously in his hands. Harley was perched on the arm of the couch beside May. Bucky was on the other side of Pepper, Morgan still clinging to him. She absentmindedly stroked his metal arm. Scott had taken a cue from Harley and sat on the opposite couch arm.

Sam and Clint took up two of the easy chairs, while Wanda had dropped herself into a bean bag chair. Bruce leaned against a nearby wall.

Steve scanned the common area, mentally taking attendance. His eyes lastly fell upon Wong, who stood off a little to the side, his face composed and focused.

“Alright, gang. We’re about to coordinate observation, which might very well become a rescue mission if our target is indeed the one responsible for their disappearance.”

Peter, fiddling with his mask in his hands, took in the packed room. “Do we really need this many people if we’re just observing at first?

“We don’t know how many are involved,” Explained Rhodey, who was standing next to Steve in full War Machine armor. “Which is why we need all hands on deck. But we may have one of them identified.” The Colonel hit a button on the arm of his suit to bring up a projection of Taylor’s passport photograph. “Name, Taylor Lee Patterson. Occupation, auto mechanic. According to records, he has an IQ that can easily compete with Tony, and apparently was once an-”

“-intern.” Pepper interrupted. Everyone turned to glance at her, startled by her suddenly speaking. She seemed to pay them no mind as she stood up and got closer to the projection, her eyes locked onto it, almost trance-like. “I remember him. I don’t ever forget faces of those who come through this company, especially ones so brilliant….” For a moment, she stared at the photo, her eyes met with his, a chill running up her spine as his eyes bore into hers just as easily as if he stood right there in person. She sharply turned to Steve, her face hard. “I’m going to suit up.”

Steve recoiled like he’d been punched. “No, you’re not!”

She glared at him. “Steve Rodgers, you are _not_ the boss of me!”

“Pep, dontcha think you should stay here? If you come with us, you’ll likely be one of the first people they try to kill.” Rhodey tried to reason. The CEO shook her head.

“I want to deal with these assholes face to face. I’m not gonna stay up here and pace a hole in the floor, while I wait to be told if he’s alive or not!” 

“You know we’d keep you updated-” Steve tried to reason, although his argument was clearly beginning to falter.

Stepping towards him, she continued. “I’ve fought Thanos, I’ve been subjected to Extremis, and I’ve dealt with Tony’s bullshit for many years…”

“She’s got a point, Steve.” Nat said, trying hard to not smirk.

Pepper looked Steve dead in the eyes. “I can handle a few crazy kidnappers. I’m coming with you.”

“We don’t even know _how_ they’re involved as of yet. They might not even have Tony and Strange-”

“Cap, just let her come with.” Sam interrupted. “You know she won’t back down.”

“Besides, it’s like the kid said, we may not even need so many people in action.” Bruce chimed in.

Steve sighed, rubbing his temples. There was no changing Pepper’s mind once it was made up, and he knew it. “Fine. But please, Pepper…if you are hurt or are seriously threatened, stand down. We can’t risk losing both of….” His words trailed off when he remembered the youngest pair of ears in the room. His eyes shifted to his boyfriend sitting on the couch with Morgan in his lap. The little girl stared back at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She may have been young, but she knew very clearly that she risked losing both of her parents if things went wrong.

Pepper followed the super soldier’s gaze, the sight of her daughter giving her pause. A hush fell over the room that no one dared break. No one dared move a muscle as they kept their eyes on Pepper. Her gaze was kept on her daughter; it was hard for anyone to gauge what was happening in her brain as she grappled with the decision at hand.

After what seemed like forever, she took a deep breath and crossed the room to take Morgan from Bucky. The two embraced for a long minute, before she planted a gentle kiss on her head. “It’s going to be alright. You be good for May and Harley, okay sweetie?” The girl nodded, her fist scrubbing at her eyes. Pepper felt her own eyes well up. “I promise I’ll be back home before you know it.”

Morgan bit her lip, “Daddy too?”

The tears spilled over, yet Pepper forced a smile. “Daddy too.” She carried her daughter to May and passed the little girl into her arms.

“Be careful, Pepper.” May said softly. The other woman nodded before leaving the room. The heaviness in the room stayed behind. Trying to break the tension, May turned to acknowledge the entire room. “ _Everyone,_ be careful.” She zeroed in on Peter. “That goes double for you, young man! No self-sacrificing, or you’re grounded!” The forced humor she had to put behind her words did little to bring ease to anyone. Still, a few of the heroes couldn’t help but snicker as Peter’s cheeks turned as red as his suit.

Steve cleared his throat. “Okay then, while Pepper gets ready, here’s what’s going down…” He paused while Rhodey pulled up a projection of the New Jersey neighborhood they were heading to.

* * *

Tony slowly woke up a few hours later, his whole body feeling like he’d been hit by a truck. As he blinked, fighting against the crust in his eyes, he first noticed how dark it was. He must’ve been out long enough for it to be some time during the night now. The realization of what had happened earlier came slamming back to him. In an instant, his whole body tensed.

There were arms around him that he only noticed were there when they tightened in response to his stiffness. Panic shocked through his system, his breathing hitching. Then the memory of Stephen holding him as he cried himself to sleep came back as well, pure relief washing over him like a wave. Letting his whole body go limp against the sorcerer, he sniffed, trying to clear his semi-clogged nose. It cleared alright, and the first scent it let in was of the man holding and gently rocking him.

It was no particular scent, nothing that Tony could ever put his finger on. His brain ran through all the different spices from family recipes his mother passed down to him, and the various flowers that Pepper had taken to growing in the garden of their lakeside home, but he couldn’t compare it to anything. It was just…Stephen.

_Why am I thinking about what the wizard smells like as if he’s one of those weird perfumes at a mall?_

A weird feeling formed in the pit of his stomach; a feeling that said he shouldn’t be concerning himself with any of this; not at a time like this.

_Or ever…_

Luckily, the man in question broke his thoughts by speaking. “How are you feeling, Tony?”

The inventor scrambled to push himself out of Stephen’s hold, leaving them both in slight awe for a moment at how noticeable the lack of the other’s touch was.

“How am _I_ feeling? I saw what they did your hands, Merlin! Are _you_ okay?”

Stephen winced and held up one of his battered hands. Even in the darkness could see some of his fingers bent and twisted in horrific ways. His stomach lurched, threatening to bring up whatever was left from their meal earlier, but he swallowed down the bile. “I’ll be alright.”

If Stephen had been able to see Tony’s face clearly, he’d have been able to see the complete disbelief as he shook his head.

“They stepped on your hands, Strange! I watched it happen! That can’t be a walk in the park to handle!”

“They forced me to watch what they did to you as well. I have serious doubt that that was any more pleasant to experience!” Tony opened his mouth to retort, but instead fell silent. Stephen leaned forward, resisting an urge to put his hand on the other man’s shoulder. “Tony, listen. I have long since mourned the destruction of my hands. I have made peace with having to abandon my career as a surgeon. There is nothing more these idiots can take away by inflicting more damage to them.”

Even in the blackness, they looked into each other’s eyes, the all-too-familiar silence between them.

“I call bullshit.” Tony finally said.

Now it was the sorcerer’s turn to shake his head. “Whatever you say, Stark…”

Tony scooted over to the wall to sit next to him. “What did they do to you? Like, when they had…me upstairs…your face looked like it was dragged across the pavement when I came to.”

Stephen grimaced. “That was essentially what occurred. I tried to fight to free you from them, but that shorter one, he managed to drag me up the stairs…although not without my face hitting this floor first.” 

The inventor breathed out. “What happened when I blacked out?”

“In honesty, not much. The goon holding me slammed my face into the wall when I attempted to break away, and that left disorientated just long enough for them to finish with you and drag us both back down here.” He bit his lip. “I must admit, I grew quite concerned when you weren’t responsive to me or any other stimuli.”

Tony removed his hand from the other man’s bicep, which he hadn’t realized he’d even put there in the first place. “Well, I’m responding now. You sure you’re okay?”

Stephen forced a grin, even though he was well aware it wouldn’t be seen in the dark basement. His whole body ached, his head pounding. He was sure it was a miracle that he’d woken up after falling asleep, due to the danger head injuries can present.

Most painful of all was his hands. The white-hot pain that shot through them each time he so much as twitched a finger was unbearable at best.

_I am not okay. I am not okay. I am not okay…_

“I’m okay, Tony. Even if I were not, I would be soon enough.”

Tony gently laid his hand back on Stephen’s arm. Neither acknowledged it outright. They just kept their silence, sitting against the wall. If they didn’t know any better, they’d say that they even leaned towards each other more as they sat in the dark and quiet, fighting exhaustion and drooping eyelids.

* * *

_The quiet of the typical spring day was shattered as an earthquake shook the building. Jasper jumped up from his desk, rushing to the nearby doorway, bracing himself against the frame. As he glanced around, he saw his coworkers scampering under desks and into doorways. Cries of surprise and fright echoed around him. Boxes toppled over, knick-knacks were falling from cubicle walls, a file cabinet came crashing down._

_The electricity went out a few seconds after it began._

_His heart pounded in his ears as he waited for the shaking to stop. Of all his time in New York, he’d never experienced an earthquake. Did the state ever get this serious of a quake? Was this normal? He closed his eyes, praying for this to end._

_And then he was falling._

_The floor had given out from underneath him and he was falling the eight stories down, down down…_

_There was no sound. Not even from the scream he was sure he felt tear from his throat._

_His eyes shot open before he hit the dirt. To his surprise and confusion, he was still standing in his office doorway. The quake had ceased. Releasing a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding, a nervous laugh following behind it, he spun around to access the damage to his office._

_He froze as if blasted by ice the moment he saw it._

_It was Chase. Or so it seemed. The 16-year-old was drenched in blood, the right half of the top of his head caved in, bits of brain matter exposed. The eye on that side was missing, a bleeding socket in its place. His t shirt was shredded, and Jasper could see gaping wounds and bruises on his son’s body. Pieces of bone jutted out from the wounds on his arms._

_His remaining eye held a stone-cold gaze on Jasper, slowly raising a mangled and scarred hand- a hand that looked so familiar- to weakly point at his father, accusingly._

_Then another quake hit._

In the end, the second quake was just Marianna shaking him, but it was what finally woke him. He scrambled to sit up, getting tangled in the blankets in the process. He was hyperventilating, and his eyes darted around the bedroom, trying to find some focus.

Without a word, Marianna put her arms around her distraught husband. She didn’t need to ask to know what he’d seen; she’d seen it plenty of times in her own nightmares.

A quake. It seemed so much easier to call it that than what it truly had been.

Aliens coming to earth wasn’t unheard of. But the hope was that once the battle of 2012 had been won, Earth would be left in peace. However, that weird squid-looking creature and that giant…rock-thing…had other plans. The whole city shook with their arrival.

They almost couldn’t identify Chase’s body after it had been recovered from their destroyed apartment building. He shouldn’t have even been home. He’d been so sick that day. A high fever, a sore throat, dizziness. They had debated bringing him to the doctor, but both of them had work.

Chase said he’d be okay. He said he could wait until later that evening when they got home. He promised if he got worse, he’d call his uncle or someone to come give him a ride to the doctor. They left him drifting off on the couch to the sound of some mid-morning TV show after grabbing an extra box of tissues for him and placing an extra blanket over him.

Jasper pushed himself off the bed and made his way toward the window, pulling back the curtains to let the moonlight stream in. He dropped to his knees and looked out at the night sky, picturing the first star he saw was his son’s gaze from above, only to feel his stomach jump as his mind couldn’t decide whether that gaze would be of pride or shame.

His mind raced a mile a minute, weighing the convincing arguments for both sides.

He would’ve wanted to be avenged, right?

He wouldn’t want his parents to hurt anyone, though…right?

_Pride or shame._

_Pride or shame…_

_Tell me son. Tell me._

But the stars just remained as they were. Though he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

Marianna slowly got out of bed herself, walking over on tiptoe to him. When he didn’t make an indication of not wanting her near, she sunk to her knees and reached over to take his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. After a moment, he squeezed back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for the continued feedback and kudos!!


	10. As The Sun Rises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team locates an insomniac Taylor.
> 
> Tony and Stephen try to escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho-kay! I have a massive migraine, but at the same time, the writing bug, so I hope that this looks good and my mind isn't too hazy!

Massive eyebags decorated Taylor’s face as he sipped at his coffee, his third cup since he’d walked into this place. Not that he’d be getting any sleep if he were at home in bed.

He’d hoped, he’d _prayed_ to stop the echoes. But as he’d laid there, all he could hear was the sound of Stark’s horrified screams, every now and then cutting off to make way for Strange’s heart-wrenching pleas for Jasper to let go of him.

Even sitting alone at this internet café, the sounds continued, ricocheting off the walls of his mind like a bouncy ball that refused to drop.

_“Y-in…Yinsen!” Tony sputtered between gasps for air. He began hacking violently against the water in his lungs. “Yinsen!!”_

Taylor’s eyes slammed shut. This part always was the loudest.

_The scene replayed before his closed eyes, Tony’s head shoved into the tub by Jasper, who had the most sadistic smile he’d ever seen on his friend, much less any human being. Water splashed everywhere as Tony struggled to get his head above the water._

_“Please! Let him go! I’ll take his place! Please, I beg of you!” Behind him, he could hear the sorcerer’s pleas repeating like a mantra, along with sounds of Cam struggling to keep his grip on him. “Tony! Tony, can you hear me?”_

_Tony’s head was pulled from the water, his bloodshot eyes darting about in pure terror as he gasped desperately for air. Jasper leaned in and spoke right into his ear, “Having a little déjà vu, aren’t we Stark?”_

_And then Tony just began to scream. Loud. Blood-curdling. Almost animalistic._

“You alright, kid?”

Taylor’s eyes opened the second the barista’s voice broke through the awful echoes, silencing them completely at last.

The worried barista stood by the small table, a rag and spray bottle in his hand.

Forcing a laugh, Taylor nodded. His whole body was trembling. “Yeah, Matt, I’m good…” He reached for his coffee, his hands shaking.

Matt wiped off the table nearby. “My guy, have you eaten anything tonight?”

“Nah, dude.”

“How ‘bout I grab ya something from the bakery then? It’s on me tonight!” He started back towards the counter, motioning for the other to follow.

Taylor’s smile turned genuine as he stood up. “That’s what you said the other night.”

The other man smiled back. “Hey, anything for my favorite customer!”

He sipped his coffee again. “I’m your only customer at this hour…”

An awful electronic doorbell sound echoed through the shop. Both guys glanced towards the door to see an unfamiliar face walk in. He wore all black clothing, a baseball cap covering his eyes and a plastic shopping bag dangling from his wrist.

Matt chuckled. “You were saying?” His raised his voice. “Hi there, sir, what can I get for you?”

The man stopped walking right next to Taylor. He peered from underneath his baseball cap, dark eyes meeting his. A shiver ran down the latter’s spine.

“I do believe he was here before I was.” He softly said.

It took Taylor a moment longer than he would’ve liked to remember how his vocal cords worked, but he finally replied, “No, i-it’s all good! I…I’ve been here for a little…”

“Very well.” He turned back to Matt. “Do you have any recommendations that would pair well with this?” He placed the bag on the table, pulling out a pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Taylor almost emptied his bladder on the spot when he saw the flavor: _Stark-Raving Hazelnuts._

As Matt rattled off some drink names, Taylor stared at the offending frozen treat as if he could burn a hole through the package with his eyes. He didn’t notice the grin that split the man’s face.

_Calm down. It’s just a coincidence…some stores must still carry it…_

He barely registered Matt going to prepare the drink. With some effort, he tore his gaze from the ice cream and tried to focus on the off-white counter in front of him, his eyes tracing any shapes or cracks he could find. When he didn’t find many, he gazed at the menu, studying every last letter.

The corner of his eye always seemed to creep over to the man beside him. Every time he caught even the slightest glimpse, his pulse shot up like a rocket. Whether or not the man noticed, he couldn’t tell.

Sweat trickled down Taylor’s back as the man accepted the cup and handed Matt a five-dollar bill. “Thank you. Do keep the change.” With one last look at Taylor, the man turned and left the shop.

Taylor’s body trembled again as Matt shook his head. “Weird guy. Then again, we’re just across the bridge, so some of then wander in from over there. Least he’s got good taste, huh?” When Taylor didn’t even acknowledge him, his brow knitted together, his gaze shifting to the door, watching the other man get into the passenger seat of a car. “Hey Taylor, you all good?”

Meanwhile, across the lot, Wong closed the passenger side door, stealing a glance at nearby black car with a familiar license plate. looking at the redheaded assassin behind the wheel. He simply cracked a slight smile and nodded to her, sipping his tea as she stepped on the gas and sped away.

~~~~~~~

“Suspect confirmed.” Nat’s voice crackled over the coms. 

Peter watched their car drive away from the internet café before he focused on one of the few cars in the lot. There was the car from the security tapes, with the license plate Steve had shown them. “Alright, so what’s the plan from here?”

“Now that we have our guy for sure, we tail him.” Came Rhodey’s voice. He was just down the block, hiding behind the wall of an abandoned store.

All went quiet for a moment before the coms crackled again. Clint, who was perched on a rooftop nearby, said, “Uhh… any clue when this guy is leaving?”

Steve sighed. “None whatsoever. But Buck, Sam, Nat, Wong, and I are making tracks for he supposed home, about six miles due north of here. Those on the jet, follow us. The rest of you stay behind and trail him. We’ll update you all as soon as we can.”

“Still no clue as to whether or not magic is a factor?” came Bruce from the com inside the jet.

“Nope. Not yet. Wong thinks this guy is harmless in that sense.” Nat replied.

Just fifteen minutes after the coms went silent, Peter saw Taylor moving towards the door.

“Oh! Oh! Guys, I think this is it! Be ready to follow!

Their suspect was now stumbling out of the café, a half-empty cup in his hand. His other hand trembled with exhaustion as he drew out his car keys and got into the driver’s seat. He was on the move, and so were the ones following him.

~~~~~

They listened to the sound of heavy footfalls overhead heading to the front door, followed by the door opening and closing.

Tony sighed, tightening the cap on the water bottle. Holding it near his ear, he shook it and frowned as he realized how much air was in there. “We’re running low, Wizard. What do you think the chances are that they’ll give us more?”

“If I had access to my abilities, I could tell you the exact number of futures they give us any. But my hypothesis is that that number is extremely low.”

The genius leaned against the fellow captive, his eyes tracing the shape of the dark basement. When he saw the window in the corner, with the very break of a daylight starting to brighten the dusty glass, he spoke again.

“…how many futures do you think there are where we escape?”

Stephen sat up suddenly, almost making Tony fall over in the process. “Stark. We’ve been over this. We’re going to wait for the team-”

Tony jumped to his feet, his had swimming and weak body swaying for a second with the sudden motion. Once he regained balance, he snapped, “We have been! I don’t know about you, but I don’t think we’ll last much longer! Either they kill us with another attack, or we run out of water. I’m sure the team is looking for us, and if I know them, they at least have a lead by now, but I’m through taking a chance!” Realizing the volume starting to rise in his voice, he quickly quieted down, almost to a whisper. “I’ve escaped before and I can do it again…I _have_ to do it again…”

Stephen didn’t miss the break in Tony’ voice on those words. His mouth twitched into a grim smile.

“You have a lot to lose, don’t you?”

The genius fell to his knees. “This time around, I do…in the past, it’s been purely survival instinct, but now…”

His words trailed off. Stephen scooted close to him and gently placed an arm around his shoulders.

“Now it’s for more than for yourself…”

Nodding and biting back tears, Tony leaned into Stephen’s side once more. “Never have kids, Strange…it makes you ridiculously soft.” They stayed there for a while, Stephen stroking Tony’s arm lightly so as not to further hurt his injured hands, and Tony curled against him.

A little voice in Tony’s mind screamed at him that he was betraying Pepper by being so close to the man. But he dismissed it; he knew she’d understand. They were trying to keep each other’s spirits up, and part of that was providing some physical comfort. They were both hurt, physically and mentally, and so far had kept each other from breaking.

Of course, he never expected Stephen to be a particularly cuddly person, but these certainly were, for lack of a better word, _strange_ circumstances, maybe it was just because of their situation that he was so open to being physically close.

There was an easy explanation for everything. Still, there was no denying how comfortable and safe he felt in the sorcerer’s embrace.

… _It’s just for now. We’ll get out of here, recover, and then we part as unlikely friends…_

Taking in a shaky breath and, hiding his face in Stephen’s shirt, he did what he always did with worries and shoved it to the back of his mind.

For Stephen, the truth was right there in front of him as he looked down at the mop of hair resting on his chest; he had grown fond of the inventor during their forced time together. When this was all over, they could truly be friends now.

Behind his arrogant air as they fought Thanos’ army was a hope that they could eventually get along. Something about this man had truly intrigued him from the moment he stepped through the portal into Central Park that fateful day.

What stuck out most of all him was that he hadn’t felt this type of fondness for anyone in forever- the only other time he recalled feeling this way was when he and Christine had dated. If anything, it was stronger now. To add a cherry on top was the hint of jealousy he felt at seeing the way Pepper had clung to him when they all met.

His heart dropped into his stomach as the realization slammed into him.

_By the Vishanti… I’ve fallen for him, haven’t I?_

He peered down at the older man once more, listening to his breathing and felt his hand clutch at his shirt. His heart fluttered.

_It figures. I meet someone I truly like and he’s a married man…_

A married man with kids. Kids who were waiting for him to come home; who _needed_ him to come home.

The sound of footsteps right above him caught their attention. They listened closely as high heeled shoes clacked along the hardwood floors, walking to the front door. The door opened and closed, the footsteps vanishing. A moment later, there was the sound of a car starting and driving away.

Stephen blinked, trying to figure out the day of the week. He looked at the small window in the corner of the room, then down at Tony, and then back to the window.

“Tony…” Stephen began. The inventor grunted in reply. “…if you truly desire to try, I’ll help you try to get through the window…”

The inventor sat up suddenly. “What changed your mind?”

“I have no clue what day it is, yet we haven’t been awake for an early morning like this if my memory serves. Two of them just left the house at separate times, one in heeled shoes.”

Tony’s eyes lit up as he caught on. “Day jobs.”

“That would be my guess.”

“Huh. I guess holding people captive must not pay the bills…”

“And that’s why we must take advantage of this time and get you through that window. You’re small enough, you should fit.”

“Ignoring that comment about my size, Merlin, what about you?”

Stephen paused, his words coming out strongly, but in a hushed voice. “I’ll be fine. If you get out, you can go get help.”

Silence prevailed as Tony mulled over his words. Sighing in resolve, he looked at the window. “That grate is barely hanging on there. Looks pretty damn rusted. Gimme a boost and I can try to yank it off.” He scrambled to his feet, his feet tingling as he put pressure on them for the first time in a few hours. He turned and helped Stephen up as well. “Man…it’s just hitting me how little we’ve eaten. I’m certainly feeling the effects…god, the first thing I wanna do when I get out of here is grab some food. What about you? You ever try Shawarma?”

Ignoring the rambling, as well as his own swimming head, Stephen nudged Tony towards the window.

When they stood below the window, Stephen dropped to his knees.

“Okay, get on my shoulders Stark. I’ll hoist you up as best I can. Grab the grate and pull.

Tony nodded, and with some difficulty balancing, did just that. Stephen wrapped his arms around Tony’s legs and unsteadily stood up. Tony leaned onto the wall to try to balance them.

“You good, Strange?”

“Uh huh. Just grab the grate!” Stephen said, his voice strangled from the strain.

The inventor reached over and grabbed the rusting bars, pulling with a harsh tug. It was only then they discovered how right Tony was about the grate barely hanging on. He pulled too hard, yanking the grate off, but unfortunately sending them both staggering backwards and falling to the ground, the metal hitting the floor with a loud clatter.

The next sound was fast footsteps as someone in the kitchen came running to the door, unlocked it, and slammed it open.

The captives looked up just in time to see a very angry Jasper in his bathrobe standing at the bottom of the stairs. The captor eyed the scene in front of him, looking at the fallen men, to the ripped off grate, to the bare window.

Fire burned in his eyes as he reached into his robe pocket and withdrew a switchblade.

“Fuck it…I can see you two think you’re clever enough to get away. Forget waiting…this. Ends. Now!”

As Jasper drew near, all Tony could do was reach for Stephen’s mangled hand.

Forcing himself through the pain, Stephen gripped Tony’s hand back.

No one heard the car door slam from outside or saw Spiderman in the tree within sight of the window.

~~~~~~

When Taylor had left the café, the heroes on his tail followed him back to the house. The moment they drew near enough, Peter’s hearing picked up a loud noise from what he guessed was the basement of the house. Quickly and stealthy, he swung onto a nearby tree.

“Karen, zoom in on that window. I think I heard the noise coming from there.

When his AI zoomed in, his heart skipped a beat at the sight of Jasper pulling the knife across Stephen’s throat.

“Move in! They’re in there!” was all he could gasp into the coms before hiking his mask up just enough to vomit on a branch next to him.

~~~~~~

Taylor dragged himself up to the front door. was pretty occupied fumbling for his keys and didn’t notice War Machine behind him until he had him pinned by his neck to the siding, just beside the front door.

“Taylor Patterson, I presume.” Rhodey asked with a hiss of contempt in his voice. Sam stepped up to wretch Taylor’s hands behind him and slap handcuffs on him.

Shock ran through Taylor’s body and all he could hear was his racing pulse. That is, until a loud bang from beside him made him jump. The sound of the door hitting the ground made him realize it must’ve been knocked down.

Through his blurry vision, he barely caught a small group of heroes rushing into the house, but he did hear Steve’s booming commands-

“Nat and Buck, take the second floor. Wong and Wanda, we’re searching the main floor.”

Taylor groaned. There was no escaping the Avengers. They were woefully outnumbered. They were done.

“…basement…they’re in the basement…” he croaked.

“Cap, this one says check the basement too.” Rhodey called out, pulling Taylor off the wall and forcing him to walk inside. The latter took in the sight of Captain America, Black Widow, Winter Solider, Scarlet Witch, and…some monk, maybe? Whoever he was, he was, he looked pretty intimidating.

_Wait. The guy at the café…_

This time, Taylor _did_ empty his bladder.

He felt a push from behind. “You’re coming down with us. If this is a trap-”

“It’s not! I swear on my mother’s grave! They’re down there!”

The group looked to the open basement door. As if on cue, they heard a loud smash, a thud, and the sound of someone being startled. Wanda and Bucky exchanged glances and a brief nod before rushing down the stairs, Bucky drawing his weapon and Wanda firing up her powers at the first sign of life.

Everyone scrambled down the stairs, freezing at the sight. Stephen was tossed aside, unconscious and unmoving, blood trickling from a nasty looking wound on his neck, dripping over the wicked shock collar and onto the floor. Shallow yet noisy breaths came from his mouth. Nearby in a fighting position was Peter, who was slightly trembling in fear.

In the middle of the room was Jasper, a crazed fury in his eyes. He had his arm tight around Tony’s chest, pinning his arm to his side, and a sharp, bloodied blade to his throat.

“One step closer…” Jasper hissed. “One step and I’ll do it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and even in my hazy mind, I'm evil enough to leave it at a cliff-hanger!


	11. Seeing Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary is moved down to end notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohmigod I can't tell you all how wonderful the comments on my last chapter made me feel! Not to be too sappy, but I started this with very little confidence left in my writing, and your feedback is majorly uplifting!! Thank you all sooooo much!!

The occupants of the basement stood frozen in place, as if someone had taken a photograph of the moment. The only sound that could be heard was the deep, angry breaths that Jasper took.

Wanda’s hands were still out in front of her, though the red had faded. She could easily take over his mind, but hesitated. Could he possibly see her fire up her hands and slit Tony’s throat before she had the chance? Could she end up cutting his throat by accident in trying to get him to drop the knife?

“We mean you no harm.” Steve offered. “This doesn’t have to end in more bloodshed. Just drop the knife, let go of Tony, and come quietly.”

Jasper barked out a sadistic laugh. “You honestly think I’m giving up that easily? I’ve dreamed for months to get my hands on these two!” He paused to look around, specifically meeting Peter’s gaze, smile growing wider when a shiver visibly went through the teen. “Although, having his precious little boy certainly makes this even better than I imagined!” Not dropping his gaze, he dug the knife into Tony’s neck and began to slice.

A repulsor blast came through the shattered window before anyone had a chance to move. It knocked the knife from the captor’s hand, severely burning said hand in the process. Jasper screamed and dropped Tony, clutching at his hand.

It was then, as Pepper Potts flew into the basement, the face shield of her Rescue suit flying up to stare the man down, that Wanda’s hands turned red and she focused on him.

* * *

The world around her faded to black, everyone else vanishing. The blackness faded to two large brick walls- an alleyway, she realized.

In front of her was a Manhattan street. She stepped out of it cautiously, eyeing the chaos and rubble around her. The buildings around her were severely damaged, some more so than others.

The area was busy with emergency responders, sifting through rubble, treating the injured, putting out some fires that had sparked.

And then a loud, mournful cry got her attention.

She spun around the see Jasper knelt on the ground. He was stock still, his face pale and twisted in shock and horror. Next to him knelt a woman about the same age, hysterically screaming and crying as she cradled the body of someone who looked to be around Peter’s age. Stepping closer, she could see the condition of the boy- the side of his head was caved in, his eye popped out, his limbs at odd angles with bone sticking out of gashes.

Tearing her gaze from the body, she looked at Jasper, who now had tears running down his cheeks. His hand shook worse than Stephen’s did as he reached out to caress the bloody face.

Wanda couldn’t take it anymore and with a wave of her hand, she forced Jasper to black out into unconsciousness.

* * *

As Bucky moved into to cuff Jasper’s unconscious form, Wanda stepped back, her legs slightly shaking. Taylor glanced over at her, well aware of what her abilities included. He bit the side of his mouth, a knot forming in his stomach at what she’d likely seen.

“We’ll need medical aid immediately when they get onto the Quinjet,” Steve said into the coms as he and Wong knelt over Stephen, his voice grabbing Taylor’s attention. “Tell Cho and her team to be ready at the MedBay. Both their necks were cut, neither near deep enough to be fatal, but Strange is losing blood and is unconscious.”

“I can heal him enough to stabilize him,” Wong spoke up, moving his hands like he was about to do so.

Taylor gasped and lurched forward in Rhodey’s grasp. “Stop! The collar! Don’t!” His voice was shrill and eyes wide with urgency. Everyone in the room looked towards him, and he took a shaky breath before elaborating. “It’s a shock collar…. prevents magic… gotta get it off…only I can…my fingerprint…” Each phrase came out breathlessly.

“…he’s not lying…” gasped Tony.

A silent exchange happened between Steve and Rhodey, before Rhodey unlocked Taylor’s handcuffs. “Be quick.”

Bucky cocked his gun and pointed it at Taylor in warning, and Steve stayed nearby, ready to jump on the captor at a moment’s notice.

Taylor didn’t waste a second. He dropped to his knees and quickly scrambled over to Stephen. As Wong held his hands at the ready, Taylor placed his thumb to the back of the collar. A few painfully slow seconds went by before there was a long beep and a click as the collar unlocked. Taylor yanked it off and chucked it across the room, immediately moving away for Wong to do what he needed to do. He pushed himself onto his knees and placed his hands on his head, allowing Rhodey to re-cuff him.

Once the collar was off, blood began to stream more steadily, but Wong was on it, placing his hands on the now-exposed skin and forcing the cut to clot.

“Think you can portal him up to the Quinjet?” Steve asked. The sorcerer nodded, not taking his eyes off Stephen’s unconscious form, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as the latter’s breathing began to ease a little.

Across the room, Nat and Sam were tending to Tony, who was barely gripping on to consciousness. Pepper had felt her heart leap into her throat when she saw the knife cut across Tony’s neck. She knelt by him, trying to keep from passing out.

“FRIDAY, what’s the scale of his injuries?” Pepper asked, falling silent as the AI quickly scanned the genius and displayed them on her HUD, relaying the information out loud. “Three broken ribs, head trauma, dehydration, broken nose, concerningly-low heart rate, hairline fracture on his left ankle…”

“Took…took you guys…” Tony slurred, cutting her off. Nat hurriedly applied pressure to the gauze she held against his neck wound.

Sam rolled his eyes. “Let’s get you fixed up, and then you can be sarcastic to us all you want.” It was at the moment he realized Peter wasn’t nearby. He glanced over his shoulder to see the teen hero pressed against the far wall, the eyes of his mask as wide as dinner plates. “Hey kid, he’s gonna be okay! He’s had so much worse!” Peter just shook his head and stayed stuck to the wall.

“I think it’s safe to move him.” Nat reported, taping the gauze in place.

With one last glance in Peter’s direction, Sam carefully slipped his arms under Tony’s back and knees. “Alright, Tony, I’m gonna carry you to the jet, now.”

“…buy me dinner…first…” Tony mumbled with a slight smirk on his face.

Sam just rolled his eyes and carefully picked the older man up. “Someone should get the kid before he becomes one with the wall.”

Both women noticed the teen vigilante frozen where he stood, showing no signs of movement.

Nat smiled sadly. “Pepper, go with Sam. I got him.” She went over to the petrified teen. “Come on, _ребенок пауk._ Let’s get out of here.” She placed her hand gently on his shoulder, seeming to snap Peter back into reality. After a moment, he unstuck himself from the wall and followed Nat to the stairs.

Once they were upstairs and walking outside, they saw the large, imposing Quinjet hovering just above the trees. Giving Pepper a brief nod, Sam activated his wings and flew Tony up towards the jet.

Pepper watched him land safely inside the jet, about to take off herself, before taking notice of the growing crowd on either side of the street. Having the Avengers appear in the neighborhood was quite an easy way to attract attention.

She was used to this type of thing, having had years of cleaning up Tony’s messes. She was used to cameras flashing, reporters with microphones and note pads, and curious spectators with cell phones out, trying to get their fill of drama. She was used to it.

But good god, she hated it.

It always seemed to ramp up especially when Tony was hurt or missing. It was almost like every single person on Earth was secretly a sadist, who ate up the schadenfreude like candy. For the first time, it truly hit her how messed up it was. Her husband was severely injured, was almost murdered, and these people were just standing around like it was a soap opera. Pepper had never truly stopped to absorb the truly disturbing nature of the reporters and the onlookers, and the TMZ creeps. Tony was more than a billionaire with a super suit who saved the entire universe; he was a father, a husband, a human! All that was erased further and further with each cell phone camera raised.

Maybe that’s why, for the first time facing these types of crowds, Pepper saw pure red.

Before she even grasped what she was doing, the usually calm and collected CEO raised a repulsor and fired.

The crowd gasped and yelped in fear, ducking out of the way. Pepper had aimed at an open patch of grass with no one near it, but it was enough to freak out everyone on the street.

“What the hell is wrong with you people? Do you not have lives? Do you not have a damn _heart?”_ She lunged towards the crowd, taking all but two steps when she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind.

“Mrs. Potts-Stark! Pepper! Please calm down!” Peter pleaded as he held back the almost-hysterical CEO.

Nat was then in front of her. “Pepper, please! Let’s just get on the Quinjet, and-”

“Make them get the fuck out of here!” Pepper shrieked, struggling against the super-strong teen.

The assassin kept her voice as level as possible, trying to block Pepper’s view of the crowd. “They’ll go away as soon as we get out of here. Now come onto the jet. Come be with Tony.”

Like a light switch, the mention of her husband’s name calmed her down. Her eyes trained upward at the jet, the crowd forgotten. Nat gave a nod to Peter, who tentatively let go of her and stepped back. Immediately, Pepper fired up the thrusters and flew up to the jet’s opening.

Inside on two stretchers beside each other was Tony and Stephen, the latter of whom had been carried through a portal onto the Quinjet once he was stabilized. Both of them now had IVs in the backs of their hands. Pepper disengaged the suit, letting the nanotech scamper back into the bracelets on her wrists as she quickly but quietly walked to her husband’s side.

Tony was awake but fighting against drifting off. The moment he had processed that he was on the Quinjet, safe and sound, he begun to breathe a little better, despite the cut on his neck. Once he saw Stephen being carried through a portal by Steve and laid in a stretcher next to him, it was like a switch in Tony’s mind was flicked. The adrenaline flushed out of his body, and he was overcome by a wave of exhaustion. They were saved. They were going home.

People were moving about around him. He saw mouths moving, faces appearing that were familiar, but too blurry to figure out who was who. People were talking, talking to him, but his ears were ringing to the point where he couldn’t understand a word. He just wanted to rest.

He turned his head to blearily see the unconscious sorcerer, a bandage now covering his neck and an oxygen mask over his face. Wong was standing near him, out of the way of those trying to get Stephen situated, but still near enough that his friend could see him if he happened to open his eyes.

When he felt a new pressure in his hand, Tony tore his gaze away and looked to the other side of him. It took a second, but he realized he was looking at Pepper. His wife held his hand, carefully avoiding the IV that had been inserted -when did that happen?- and her lip trembling slightly as she tried to keep herself calm.

With the last of his energy, he forced a tiny smile to cross his face, a smile that Pepper copied, and then he let himself fall into the darkness.

* * *

The next thing he was aware of was this feeling of drifting upwards, as if he were underwater and was now floating to the surface. As he floated higher and higher, a faint, steady beeping broke through the silent darkness. It slowly got louder and louder as he floated higher and higher…

Stephen’s eyes twitched and his face slightly scrunched as he slowly returned to the conscious world, the beeping still sounding from somewhere beside him.

_Heart monitor…wait, I’m in a hospital?_

He felt a gentle hand caress his cheek. “Stephen? Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?”

Hearing the familiar voice, he summoned all his will-power and forced his eyes open. Bright lights assaulted his vision, and it took a few tries for his eyes to be able to stay open. When they got used to the light, he saw a blurry figure with light brown hair standing over him. He blinked the image into focus to see a worried, yet familiar face staring at him.

Relief washed over him like a wave. “Christine…”

She smiled softly. “Hey, Stephen.”

He glanced around the room, it looking almost too fancy to be a typical hospital room. “Did they bring me to Metro…?”

“No, you’re at the MedBay at the Avengers’ tower.” He creased his brow in confusion until she clarified. “Once they located you and Stark, your magical friend Wong contacted me.” She turned to look over her shoulder at an easy chair in the corner of the room that was occupied by the aforementioned sorcerer. He was fast asleep, snoring slightly.

Stephen lifted his head slightly, his mouth twitching in a failed smile when he saw his friend. However the pain in his head was too much to bare and he laid back down. Shutting his eyes to stop his vision from swimming, he asked, “…how bad?”

It took a moment for her to understand, but then leaned over and picked up his chart. “Head trauma, superficial wounds to your face and torso, one on your forehead that is being treated for infection, shattered bones in-”

She stopped herself, looking nervous, and eyes drifting down to the bed. He followed her gaze and realized she was referring to both his hands wrapped in thick casts. His heart jumped as he remembered the feeling of Cam and Jasper stepping on them.

“…déjà vu.” He sighed.

“…I’m so sorry, Stephen. If it helps, they think you’ll be able to retain the little use you had with them-”

“Christine, it’s fine.” His reply came out a bit more biting than he had intended and caused Christine to slightly recoil. “…sorry, it’s just…I have no more reason to be upset. I know my purpose in this world, and I don’t need fully functional hands for it. As long as I can still have a sling ring on my fingers, I’ll be okay.”

_I’m sure I’m going to have to repeat the same thing to Tony at some point-_

“Tony! Where’s Tony?” He instinctively tried to sit up, the heart monitor picking up speed. Christine immediately placed two hands on his chest and tried to get him to lay back down.

“Calm down, Stephen. Look to your left.”

When he did, his heart fluttered.

In the bed next to him lay Tony, a bandage across his nose, and his nasty multi-colored bruises all over his face and arm. But Stephen almost didn’t notice any of it. Instead he noticed Peter in another chair pulled up beside the bed, his hand clutching his mentor’s in his sleep. Further down by the end of the bed was another chair, this one containing Harley as he slumped forward, also passed out and leaning on the bed by Tony’s feet. But what the most heart-wrenching was Morgan, tucked into Tony’s armless side, her tiny hand clutching his hospital gown as she too was asleep. Nearby on a couch was Pepper, half her face hidden in a pillow.

“I guess they allow for more occupants per room here, huh?” Stephen said, his voice slightly choked. Christine chuckled

“They’ve barely left his side the whole time. He woke up about a day ago, and immediately insisted you be brought into the same room.”

“Wait, a day ago? How long has it been?”

She bit her lip. “About four days. They were concerned about your head injuries and the blood loss. They put your both under to make sure you’d be okay.” As he absorbed this, her watch beeped. She checked it before laying a hand on his shoulder. “I have to go get ready for my shift.” She stood, gathering her things. “Oh crap, I should let Dr. Cho know you’re awake! I’ll grab hold of her on the way out!” She caressed his cheek once more before starting to walk to the door. “Get some rest, Stephen. I’ll be back tomorrow!”

When she had left, Stephen tried to slowly pick his head up to look at his sleeping friend, only to get a moment’s glance before having to lie down again, shutting his eyes.

He was never one to be touchy-feely, but having his closest friends be there when he woke up made his heart flutter again.

_Friends…_

As he slowly opened his eyes again, he turned his face to look at Tony, sound asleep surrounded by his children. It was good to see the genius sound asleep with no threat lurking nearby.

Christine’s words about Tony insisting Stephen be in the same MedBay room echoed in his head, causing a weird warmth to pool in his stomach, and as his eyes flicked to Pepper asleep across the room, a small yet noticeable ache in his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY: Wanda looks at Jasper's memory, the shock collar finally comes off, Pepper loses her cool in front of onlookers, Stephen wakes up in the MedBay to a special visitor. 
> 
> Yay!!!! They're finally home!!!   
> But this is far from the end of the story- I've got a lot more prepared!!   
> Hope you enjoyed this!!


	12. Waking Nightmares (repost)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY IN END NOTES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo....don't ask, but I managed to screw up something when editing this chapter to the point where I said "fuck it." and just decided to just delete and re-post...don't mind me being a fucking genius...

A flash of red flew into the room, and before Stephen could even react, he found himself covered by the Cloak of Levitation. The garment wrapped itself around its master like a hug, its collar resting against his bandaged neck.

Stephen blinked in surprise, but then chuckled. “I missed you too!” He nudged his cheek against the collar, the bandaged taped to his neck rustling with the movement. “But if you can hold me a little gentler, I’d appreciate it!”

The cloak relented then, clearly apologetic, before resting over his body like a blanket.

“Apparently it’s been getting antsy the whole time you’ve been out.” Came a low-voiced remark from beside him. Stephen snapped his head to the side to see a sleepy looking Tony staring back at him, kept immobile by sleeping kids.

Stephen chuckled, also keeping his voice quiet. “It’s very protective. I can’t imagine it was very happy while I was gone.” The cloak shook its collar from side to side, as if to say no. He wished his hands weren’t wrapped in plaster so he could stroke it. Instead he nuzzled it once more. “I’m okay. I’m here now.” The cloak constricted around him for a moment before loosening again.

“We had to wait for you to wake up. Wanted to make sure it wouldn’t suffocate you in its embrace!” Dr. Cho said as she stood in the doorway.

“Looks like your efforts were for naught.” Stephen remarked as the cloak settled down. The doctor came over to him, shutting the curtain between the beds as she walked. She tapped the cloak lightly, trying to move it, but it smacked her hand. “Hey! No! She needs to have a look!” The cloak crinkled as if in shame, then pealed back, pulling the blankets with it.

She helped Stephen out of the hospital gown and he looked down at himself, almost becoming sick at the sight. His body was covered in cuts and bruises of varying colors, a bandage was wound around his ribs, and a few taped-on bandages that he was sure covered up sutures.

Dr. Cho noticed his reaction and gently put a hand on his shoulder. “It looks worse than it is, Stephen. You’re through the worst of it. I promise.”

Suddenly, a small, sleepy voice came from behind the curtain. “Daddy, Uncle Stephen’s awake?”

Tony laughed softly. “Yes, Morguna, but Dr. Cho is taking care of him right now.”

“I’ll be able see you in just a moment, little one!” Stephen called, the words tumbling out of his mouth, as the doctor was replacing the gown. The cloak pulled the blankets back over its master before lying on top of him once more. The sorcerer, meanwhile, turned to face the doctor, listening as she gave strict instructions to stay in bed until further notice, call for an assistance, and all the medications she was prescribing for him. All the while, the question of the condition of his hands resting on the tip of his tongue, itching to be voiced.

He literally bit his tongue, swallowing back the question.

_It’s not important. It’s not important. You don’t need to worry…_

The curtain was drawn back with a whoosh, revealing Tony and his now-awake kids. As Dr. Cho left, Morgan quickly scrambled off her father’s bed, grabbed something from the beside table, and came over to Stephen.

“Uncle Stephen! I made you a ‘get well’ card!” she chirped as she held up an unevenly folded piece of paper. On the cover were the words “GET WELL SOON” written in marker above a colorful drawing of Stephen.

“…why are there green lasers coming out of me?” he asked, clearly amused by the straight green lines that seemed to shoot out from his stomach.

She giggled. “That’s your necklace powers!” Seeing how his hands were out of commission, she opened it for him, showing a chicken-scratch message with her name “signed” at the bottom.

“Thank you very much, little one. Put it on my nightstand, if you please!” She did, making sure it balanced as best it could before climbing onto his bed.

“Hey, just be careful with him!” Tony warned. “He’s hurt, just like daddy is!”

Heeding her father’s warning, Morgan gingerly wrapped her arms around Stephen in a gentle hug. He couldn’t help but recall the first time she’d hugged him…

_He’d shown up every day, just after mealtimes. As Tony finished his dinner, like clockwork, Stephen appeared in the doorway, a manilla folder tucked under his arm._

_“It’s good to see your appetite has fully returned.” He commented, eyeing the tray Tony was now scraping remaining gravy off of. He pulled up a chair and sat by his bedside, briefly glancing across the room at Harley, who sat with Morgan on his lap, watching some movie on a StarkPad, a little curious as to why Peter, who practically lived by Tony’s bedside, was absent. The two kids took notice of his entrance and paused their movie._

_“ If you’re looking for the third one, I sent him out on patrol. He’s barely left this room since…” Tony trailed off, shaking his head. “Bottom line, I told him to take a break.”_

_Stephen smiled. “He’s loyal.”_

_The inventor laughed. “Loyal enough to follow me onto some alien donut ship.”_

_“You’re lucky.”_

_“Am I?”_

_“Such loyalty from others is not something one comes by easily.” He opened the folder in his hands. “Speaking of lucky, looking at your current charts, Cho and I believe it’s best that you try to walk tomorrow morning.”_

_There was a squeal of happiness and before anyone else could react, a whirlwind collided with Stephen’s legs. He startled and looked down, discovering Morgan had thrown herself at him, trying to hug him. Her tiny arms could barely reach around his waist, but she held onto him tightly, leaning back to smile up at him._

_“Uncle Stephen! Is he really gonna get to walk?”_

_The sorcerer had no clue what to do. The man who’d defeated a demon by annoying him with a time loop simply had no clue how to react to a small child._

_His voice feeling heavy in his own throat, he stammered, “Yes…yes, little one. He, uh, we think he’s at a place where he can…walk…”_

_She hugged him tighter. “Thank you, Uncle Stephen!”_

_Stephen felt his heart skip a beat. Uncle. She’d never called him that before. It felt…weird. But maybe that wasn’t a bad thing._

_He stared down at her, awestruck. He’d never wanted kids. He never knew how to act around them. And yet here was this small human being, calling him “uncle,” like she did to all the adult men in her life, and hugging him as if she’d always done so._

_Now what?_

_As if Harley could hear his thoughts, the teen chuckled and said, “Hey, Doc, ya know you’re supposed to, like, hug her back, right?”_

_Slowly, as if trying to figure out how his arm muscles worked, Stephen did so as he tried to ignore the clear amusement on Tony’s face._

Harley came over to the bedside and gave Stephen a one-armed hug before he picked Morgan off of Stephen’s bed. “Glad to see you’re finally awake, Doc. Ya feeling okay?”

“If I have to answer honestly, I feel like I was run over by a truck.” The sorcerer grumbled. He then noticed Peter standing nearby, wringing his hands nervously. His eyes were downcast as he stepped up to the bedside. “…How are- are you feeling, Mister-Doctor Strange?” His head snapped up, eyes wide with panic. “Oh, sorry! Stupid question! And you just said how you’re feeling! I’m sorry!”

Chuckling and holding up a hand, he said, “It’s quite alright, Peter.”

“Eh, don’t sweat it, kid.” Tony chimed in. “The guy just woke up from some heavy drugs. I don’t think asking him the same question twice in a row matters right now. I doubt he knows his ass from his head.”

Stephen couldn’t resist. “Why are you referring to yourself in the third person?”

“Oh, har, har. Ya know, if I had enough energy to give a shit, I’d destroy with you with sarcasm!”

“Tony, watch your language, there’s young ears in the room!” Pepper mumbled as she pushed herself off of the couch she had been sleeping on. Wincing as she stretched out the kinks in her muscles, she stood up, foregoing her shoes and walking barefoot to her husband’s bedside.

Morgan rushed over to her mother. “Mommy! Daddy stole your word!”

“Don’t worry, sweetie, he’ll have to pay the fee later!” She turned and raised her brows at Tony, who just flashed a big shit-eating grin back at her. She just sighed and shook her head, leaning forward to kiss his temple.

Clearing his throat, Stephen said, “To more specifically answer your question Peter, I am indeed in pain. But I’m alive, I’m awake…” He locked eyes with him. “I will be just fine.”

The statement was made with the firm assurance he could tell the teen needed. Peter’s face flashed with pure relief and he carefully hugged the sorcerer. Though he felt hot tears slip from the vigilante’s eyes drip onto his hospital gown, he decided not to say anything. He just gently returned the hug as best he could.

~~~~~~

A soft knock at the door made Wanda jump.

“Wanda?” Steve’s voice softly called. “May I come in?”

After a moment, she muttered, “Sure.”

He opened the door to find the teen sitting on her bed, her back to the door. Her television was on, the reports on Tony and Stephen being found playing once again on the news. She wasn’t even paying attention; she had her face in her hands. His stomach knotted; the last time he’d seen her do this since the incident in Sokovia when she watched the news reports calling her dangerous.

Slowly, he made his way over and turned off the TV before sitting next to her. “I made lunch. You hungry?”

Again, she waited a moment before answering to the floor. “Not really, no.” Her accent always seemed to get thicker in these darker moods.

He got off the bed and knelt down in front of her, trying to meet her gaze. “There’s no need to worry. They’re home safe. Those two that we caught, they’re locked in cells so secure, not even Nat could escape-”

“I could’ve gotten the knife out of his hand.” Wanda blurted out. Steve stared at her, confused until she spoke again. “When he had the knife at Tony’s throat, I thought about using my powers to grab it. But I was too afraid he’d cut him by accident…”

He gently took her hand in both of his. “Wanda, Tony survived. The knife was too dull, he was in too big a hurry to cut deep enough.” Pausing for a moment, he tried to look into her eyes. She kept her face towards the floor. “…and honestly I think he was too afraid to actually kill them.”

“And what if he wasn’t? What if we watched Tony die, knowing I could’ve saved him?” 

“But we didn’t. You did everything just right. He and Strange are both alive and in the Medbay, perfectly safe.” After another minute of no reply, he stood up. “I’ll be sure to leave some leftovers for you to eat later, okay? Come and get when you’re hungry.” He turned and walked to the door, just reaching it when Wanda spoke again.

“There was a boy.”

Steve halted and turned back to her to find her looking at him. “What are you talking about?”

“In that man’s head. I saw such a horrible memory. He and a woman in a destroyed part of the city. They were holding the body of a teenage boy, who had been killed in the attack. They both looked so…destroyed.” She paused, her mind flashing back to the sight. “I..I don’t know what even made me look into his head once he was disarmed. He was no longer a threat, I don’t-”

The super solider placed his hand on her knee. “Wanda, take a deep breath.” He waited as she followed his instruction. “You did what needed to be done. It doesn’t matter ‘what-if.’ It matters that we got them home alive.”

She inhaled shakily as she absorbed his words. They’re home, she repeated in her mind. They’re alive. They’re safe.

Somehow, she didn’t believe the teammate she trusted most.

“You said he’s in the dungeons?”

“Yes. Along with the one who didn’t fight us.”

“…didn’t Stark say there were more? That there was a woman as well?”

Steve bit his cheek and stood up. “We’ll find ‘em.” He slowly offered his hand. She sighed and took it. Letting him help her stand.

As they walked to the elevator, she again thought back on the heart-breaking memory. The woman’s screams bounced off the walls of her mind.

The woman. Could she be the one Tony had mentioned?

As she and Steve entered the elevator and he told FRIDAY where to bring them, she let her eyes fall over the panel of buttons on the wall. One more ‘LL’ stood out to her.

She fought the sudden urge to press it right then and there. She had a few questions for one of the men locked up on that level…

~~~~~

“Morgan, sweetie, it’s getting late.” Pepper announced.

Her words startled Stephen awake. The sorcerer had been in an out of consciousness as the late afternoon turned to evening. He had long since stopped trying to figure out how long he was out for each time.

“But Mommy!” Morgan whined. “Just five more minutes? Please?”

“Yeah, Pepper, please?” Harley whined in a similar manner, he and Peter copying Morgan’s Bambi-eyed expression.

Pepper crossed her arms, a stern look on her face that greatly contrasted the exhaustion in her own eyes. “Bedtime.”

“Listen to your mother,” Tony chimed in. His daughter shot a look of heartbreak at him. He reached out and caressed her cheek. “You can come back, bright and early tomorrow. Your uncle and I will still be right here, waiting!”

She peered over at Stephen, who nodded to her. This seem to make her feel better. “Okay. Goodnight, daddy. I love you 3000!” She turned and walked over to Pepper, taking her hand. “Goodnight, Uncle, Stephen!”

Tony had a dopey grin on his face as his wife and daughter left the room. “3000. You never get tired of hearing that.” He then looked at Peter and Harley. “You boys should get to bed too.” Peter suddenly looked nervous and opened his mouth to protest, but Tony continued. “Pete, you’ve been sleeping in a chair since I got home. I doubt that’s comfortable at all.”

“It’s fine, Mr. Stark! I swear it’s fine!” He sputtered. Tony raised his eyebrow at him. “I’m okay with sleeping in a chair here…I-I’m sure I’ll be good with…with another…night-”

Tony looked at Harley. “Spud, do you think you can-?”

“I get it.” Harley laughed as carefully gave Tony a one-armed hug. “G’night Tony!” He gave Peter a smile and a friendly punch on the arm and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

A weird silence fell over the room as Peter nervously played with the strings of his hoodie. For a moment, Tony just watched him, trying to think of what to say. But as seconds ticked by, he suddenly began to feel very uneasy. His stomach twisted in knots as the moment dragged on.

_Anxiety attack?_

This was the last thing Tony needed. He knew Peter was already worried about him, and he didn’t need more reason to worry. Swallowing his panic down his dry throat, his eyes flickered around the room, trying to find something to focus on. He peered over at Stephen, the sorcerer’s face stoic and expressionless.

Looking away, he noticed Wong, still on the couch and asleep.

“…is he really _still_ asleep?”

Stephen’s mouth twitched upward slightly. “No. He was astral projecting for a while, though. Now he’s just pretending.”

His eyes still shut, Wong grumbled, “I prefer to not deal with a room full of noisy people.” He opened his eyes and sat up, looking towards Tony and Peter. “Well then. Don’t mind us. Go on.”

“Yes. Of course!” Tony replied, suddenly reminded of the situation at hand, pushing back anymore thoughts of the minor anxiety attack. He faced Peter once more, the teen nervously staring at the floor. Scooting over on the bed as best he could, he patted the spot right beside him. “Come here, Underoos.” Peter hesitated, but then as if pushed by an invisible force, quickly stepped forward and crawled onto the bed, burying himself in Tony’s side, where Morgan had been asleep just hours before. Tony reached over and gently stroked his soft brown curls. They felt a little greasy and were wildly untamed, showing that the boy hadn’t showered in several days. “Kiddo, talk to me. What’s with the sudden separation anxiety?”

“it’s not separation anxiety…” Peter muttered into his mentor’s shoulder. The teen sat up. “It’s just…I’m just…just relieved to…see you awake…and…”

“I’ve been awake for a few days. You’ve been here the whole time.”

“I know…” He stared down at his lap.

Tony carefully sat up as well, his body screaming in protest. He cupped the boy’s cheek. “Pete. Look at me.” He did, tears in his eyes. “I’m okay. So is the wizard.”

“I saw you get your throats cut!” Peter shouted, the words exploding out of him and the tears spilling over. Powerful sobs overtook him and he buried his face in Tony’s shoulder once more.

Tony’s heart dropped. His memories of the last few moments before rescue were blurry and barely there, so he hadn’t realized what had happened or who had seen what. But Peter had seen their captor attempt to murder them, and no one thought it necessary to tell him? Did people not notice how Peter hadn’t left his bedside for a minute?

Bringing his arms around the crying teen, he threw a helpless glance at Stephen and Wong, who looked just as horrified and unsure of what to do. The cloak rose from Stephen’s legs and slowly floated over, draping itself over Peter’s shoulders, holding him as if to try to hug him.

Through his sobs, Peter spoke again, clutching the cloak closer around him. “I saw that guy…I saw him cut Dr Strange’s throat first…and then…then when we were…we were in that basement…” He took a shaky breath. “Tony, I thought you guys were dead!”

The use of his first name made Tony’s heart break even more. “Oh, Pete…” He pulled the teen away from his shoulder, taking in the painful sight of Peter’s tear-streaked face and pain-filled eyes. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, bud. I didn’t know… no one told me…” He again threw a glance at the two occupants in the room. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Neither sorcerer said anything, though Tony didn’t even expect an answer. His attention focused back on Peter, the kid who hadn’t left his bedside. Who slept in a chair for days. Who hadn’t _bathed._

_Why did no one help him??_

“Please don’t be mad, Mr. Stark…” Peter said, sniffling. “May and Ms. Potts tried to get me to leave…and Mr. Wilson even sat with me, and did like, a therapy talk with me before you woke up.”

Making a mental note to thank Sam the next time he saw him, he gave Peter a gentle smile. “Kid, I understand why you’d wanna hang around after seeing what you saw…but you need to take care of yourself. Go shower and go sleep in your bed.” Peter again tried to protest, but Tony held up his hand. “No, the adult is talking. Go take care of yourself, and then come back first thing in the morning.”

After a moment of mulling it over, Peter finally nodded stiffly. He gently hugged Tony once more before getting off the bed and over to Stephen, whom he also embraced. He then nudged the cloak off of his shoulders. It slipped back on to Stephen’s lap, wrapping around Peter’s hand to give it a final squeeze before letting go.

“Thanks, Cloaky!” He made his way to the door, calling over his shoulder, “Goodnight, Mr. Stark! Goodnight Dr Strange! Goodnight, Mr. Wong!” They all bid him goodnight and he left.

“I have to say, Stark, I never would have imagined you so easily navigating the emotions of young ones.” Wong commented after a moment.

Tony grinned. “Wasn’t easy at first. Had a lot of practice with Morgan.” He turned to Stephen. “I never realized how Pete seems to have taken to you as well.”

Stephen raised a brow. “He hasn’t told you much about being in the soul realm, has he?”

“No, he really doesn’t talk about it. Can’t say I blame him…can’t say I blame anyone who was there. That must’ve been hell!”

“Oh it was, Stark.”

Silence filled the room once more, but it wasn’t long until Tony broke it.

“So, what happened there?” he blurted out, a little more blunt than he intended.

Stephen sighed. “When it first happened, it was all mass-confusion. So many souls occupied a vast, orange space, everyone trying to figure out what had happened. When I awoke, I didn’t immediately see anyone that I recognized. I got up and tried to navigate through the growing crowd, until I spotted Peter. The poor kid was scared out of wits…he saw me, and he latched onto me…”

Tony chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

Stephen yawned, the little energy he had left quickly fading. “For that whole time, he never left my side. I admit I found him irritating at first, but he slowly grew on me. Even when we had found some of the others, Quill, Wilson, Barnes, Shuri…he refused to let me out of his sight.”

The cloak reached up to dry a few tears that he hadn’t realized had fallen. Stephen blinked at them as he fully laid back down, his head too heavy to keep up any more.

“I…well...thank you…for taking care of my kid during all that time…” the genius said.

The soft smile that graced Stephen’s face as he drifted to sleep, and the matching one on Tony’s as he fell asleep shortly afterward, weren’t missed by Wong. The sorcerer simply shook his head before sitting on the couch Pepper had occupied, picking up a nearby book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY: Cho examines Stephen, who tries to avoid asking about his injured hands. Morgan gives Stephen a "get well" card and a hug. Tony notices that Peter and Stephen seem to share a bond. He has a minor anxiety attack when the room goes quiet; Peter is having a tough time leaving Tony's bedside after watching him almost die again. Stephen tells Tony how he looked after Peter in the soul realm.  
> Wanda feels guilty over not using her magic to stop Jasper sooner. Steve tries to talk her through it.
> 
> I hope this was worth the wait!! Also, when I wrote about Morgan's drawing on the card, I imagined her drawing of Stephen to be the drawing of Dr. Strange that Benedict Cumberbatch drew on a segment of Jimmy Kimmel.  
> Will try to update faster!!!


	13. Leave The Light On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY MOVED TO END NOTES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd hit a brick wall with writing this, but finally felt the gears in my head turning again!! So here's a bit of a longer chapter to make up for the wait!!

The heavy elevator door shut behind her, the sound echoing off the walls. Wanda stared down the seemingly infinite hallway in front of her, mostly full of empty prison cells. It was enough to make her stomach churn with the remnants of the meal she just ate with the team. Somehow, she willed her feet to carry her forward; the one she sought was at the end of this hall.

After a minute of dark, empty cells, she came across the one she was looking for. Behind the vibranium-reinforced see-through wall was a desk that was built into the wall it sat against, a television built into the wall, covered by a reinforced plexiglass pane, a toilet, and a cot that was bolted to the floor. On the cot sat a man in light blue prison scrubs. One of his hands was wrapped in fresh bandages. Even as she stepped up the cell, he kept his head facing downward, dirty blond curls covering his face.

Ever since that morning in the basement, she hadn’t been able to get that awful scene out of her mind; this man and a woman falling to pieces as they clutched a teen’s body among rubble of what was likely their home. Every time that scene replayed in her head, it took everything to force it out. It was too painful.

It was too familiar.

For a long minute, Wanda stood there facing this man, suppressing a shudder. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been drawing a knife across her teammate’s throat. Now here behind the cell door, he looked almost harmless.

_Almost._

And yet, fear wasn’t the thing that made her shudder.

She swallowed against her bone-dry throat.

“Jasper O’Neil.” His name felt strange and heavy on her tongue. The prisoner lifted his head at the sound of his name. His face was contorted in some form of anger, but it did little to mask the fear shining in his eyes.

He forced a smirk. “Wanda Maximoff.” Pushing himself off the bed, the long-chained shackles on his ankles rattling as he shuffled closer to the see-through wall. “Or do you prefer ‘Scarlet Witch?’”

She folded her arms across her chest and kept her face stone-cold; a position she’d clearly picked up from being around Natasha. “Just ‘Wanda’ is fine.” The coldness in her own voice surprised her.

Jasper held up his hands. “Hey, it’s all cool, I was just asking. I wouldn’t know what you like to be called. You may be able to go inside my head and find out about me, but I can’t exactly do the same in return.” When all she did was stay still as a statue, her face slightly less neutral, he added, “Speaking of which, gotta thank you for be a courteous guest in my head and turning out the lights when you left.” She simply hummed in response, inhaling through her nose. For a moment, they just stood there, observing one another. “So…to what do I owe this lovely visit to?”

She continued to stare him down, the questions she had sitting on her tongue refusing to come out. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, she was able to push them out, almost vomiting them up.

“So, who the boy?”

He smiled sadly. “My son. His name was Chase.”

“And the woman, I assume, was his mother?”

He nodded. “My wife, Marianna.”

“…who we intend to track down, along with your friend.”

“And I have little doubt you will. Though a wonderful woman, Mary’s not the sharpest tack in the drawer. Really, I’m surprised that Cam is her _step-_ brother; his IQ is about the same as hers, you’d swear they’re related by blood.”

“It seems it’s weighing on your mind for that to be the memory I walked in on in that moment.”

He chuckled. “What is this, therapy?”

She snorted. “It’s called an interrogation.”

“Well, you might want to work on your skills in that field a little. That, and your bluffing skills.”

“What would I be ‘bluffing’ about right now?”

Raising his brows, he smirked. “We both know you’re down here, because what you saw hit a sweet spot.” She blinked but forced her feet to stay firmly planted and her body to remain still. He went on. “You know, Wanda, we’ve lived totally separate lives…I don’t think I need to go into detail on that, do I? But there is something we are united by.”

“And that would be…?”

He smirked at her. “Loss.”

She inhaled through her nose again, tightening her crossed arms. “Millions of others have also lost loved ones. We have nothing that unites us.”

“Very true. But it still puts us in the same club. A few dozen, a few million, whatever the amount; loss links us together, like it or not.” He turned his back to her and began pacing the length of his cell as he continued, the chains rattling. “The bottom line, Wanda, we have both lost family. My son, your parents, your brother…what was his name? Evan…? Aaron…?”

Through clenched teeth, she breathed, “Pietro.”

“Oh wow, I was way off! Pietro. Should’ve remembered it wasn’t common. But then again, from what I’ve researched, neither was he.”

“Whatever game you’re trying to play, it won’t work!” she suddenly snapped. He held up his hands once again.

“No games, Wanda. I’m just trying to make you understand.”

She paused. “Understand what?”

“My motive. I mean, I’m the bad guy here, right? I’m sure you and the other Avengers would _love_ to hear my motive. Might as well get it out there! I mean, I’m sure you’d understand it far more than the Colonel did, us being _united_ in loss, and all.”

“If you claim we’re ‘united’ one more time, this prison cell won’t be nearly enough to protect you from me…”

“Oh, Wanda. It’s just a little joke! No harm done!” He was silent for another moment, seemingly in thought. “You know maybe I oughta point out the other, um, how should I put it? Common denominator between us?”

“What?”

He turned to face her. “Tony Stark.”

Her expression faltered for a split second. “What about him.”

“Oh, just the reason for both our losses. His weapons killed your parents, his evil creation, Ultron, was it? That thing that killed Pietro…his issues with those aliens lead them to come to Earth, their arrival killing Chase…” He watched as she tried to school her expression, his face splitting into a grin like the Cheshire Cat. “I’m surprised you’re all buddy-buddy with Stark now…”

Her eyes were on the floor, her teeth gritted hard. “He’s the reason I was brought back from dust!”

“He’s the reason you _became_ dust in the first place!”

Her lip trembled slightly. “…it…it wasn’t his fault that Thanos-”

“If it wasn’t for the damn aliens having some vendetta against him, and that stupid magical asshole with the green glowing thing, you wouldn’t have lost five years of your life, as well as your robot boy-toy!” His words echoed off the walls of the dungeons, as well as the walls in her head. She staggered back, as if she’d been punched. He chuckled at this. “You know another thing you gotta work on? Pretending to be tough. Might I suggest taking a lesson or two from Stark’s lovely wife?”

Her head picked up. “How did you-?”

He pointed to the television. “News stations go for clips like that like a kid with a bag of Halloween candy.” As her gaze shifted to the floor once more, he watched her, head tilted slightly. “Well, Wanda, if that’s all you have to ask me, I’m sure you have some more important things to do. Thank you for coming to see me, though. Visitors break up the monotony.”

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Wanda opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out. She couldn’t even bring herself to look at him again before turning and retreating back to the elevator.

~~~~

On the couch across the room, fast asleep, was Wong. His book was still open and balanced on his chest as it rose and fell. Other than his light snores, the only sound in the room was the TV as it played on a low volume.

Whatever stupid show was on, Tony had no clue. His mind clung to the sounds of the show like a drowning man to a life preserver, but he still couldn’t focus on what the show was about or what was happening. If anything, it just kept him afloat above a dark ocean of anxiety just enough to let his mind drift.

Here and there, he’d turn his head to look over at the sleeping sorcerer in the other bed. He felt his cheeks heat up as he thought about how he’d begged Stephen to be moved into the same room, how he’d only allowed himself to pass out once he knew the other was safe on the jet. He wanted nothing more than to get into the bed with him, and that’s what bothered him the most.

If someone asked what he was feeling at the moment, the only identifiable emotion was “pathetic.” He had a loving wife, three kids, a ton of concerned friends and teammates, and all he wanted was a sorcerer he barely knew. Something about Stephen just captivated him; from his sharp jawline, to the way he carried himself with such grand importance. All of it was comforting to focus on, and he hated himself for it.

Not only that, but he felt pathetic for why he was even in the MedBay. Of all the perils he’d faced in his career as a hero, being stuffed in a basement by blood-thirsty idiots should’ve been child’s play to walk out of with barely a scratch. He would swallow any fear, and deal with it in private. He had come out of months of captivity at the hands of terrorists with an electromagnet keeping him alive, and yet he was fine. He’d flown a missile into a wormhole and crash landed back on earth, able to walk away to grab shawarma with the team. Yet, he almost died because of a maniac with a knife. 

His eyes shifted to where his right shoulder ended in a stump, his stomach knotting at the sight of having a missing arm.

“Of course, maybe having two arms would’ve made it easier to escape…” he muttered out loud to himself.

“I could have told you that, douchebag.” Came a baritone voice from nearby. Startled, Tony turned to face Stephen, whose eyes were half-lidded as he fought to wake up. “How long have I been asleep this time?”

Tony shrugged. “Coupla’ hours, I guess. I dunno. At least that was when I woke up.”

Stephen hummed in response, turning his head towards the TV, trying to place what was playing. “Did I miss anything while I was out?”

“Eh. Not really. Pep came by one more time to say goodnight, and Rhodey stopped in to tell me they searched the house and finally found where those fuckers hid my arm. I’ll be able to finally put it back on tomorrow.”

“That’s great news.”

The genius chuckled. “Sure is!”

Neither of them said a word for another minute, focusing on the television once more, the

“No one turned the lights off?” Stephen asked suddenly, not taking his gaze from the screen.

“I asked them to be left on. I don’t about you, but after being in that dark basement, being able to see is a real treat.” He packed as much snark as he could into his comment, but it didn’t have the usual sting attached. After a minute or two, he turned his face towards Stephen, before speaking again. “Hey, Wizard?”

“Yes?”

“I never got the chance to thank you for helping me out down there. What with that asshole shoving my face into the tub and stuff…it brought back a lot of…of rough memories.”

This time, Stephen looked over at Tony, their eyes meeting as they’d done many times during the whole ordeal. “I understand, Tony. There is no need to thank me.”

Unable to stop the tickly feeling in his stomach that he got from meeting Stephen’s eyes, Tony tore his gaze away. “Well, I’m gonna anyhow. Be happy that I am. I usually don’t get this sappy.”

Stephen’s lips turned upward slightly. “Tell me that again when the kids are around.”

Tony couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think being forced to hang around me for however long it was caused my sarcasm to rub off on you.”

“No, I believe I’d already achieved this level of sarcasm before I’d ever met you.”

“Yeah, I’ll be sure to check with your girlfriend when she returns tomorrow.” He noticed Stephen’s face fall at his comment. “What?”

“ _Ex-_ girlfriend.”

“Oh…yikes, that’s…that’s my bad, I apologize!”

“No, no, it’s okay. We were better off as friends…and colleagues, back in the day. Even though I was not the kindest person in the past, she still came back into my life. Even after I’d been so insufferable.”

“Sounds like she and Pep would get along famously.”

Stephen’s felt his stomach clench. “Yes. I have to be honest with you, I don’t see how Pepper tolerates you some days.”

“You’re not the first one to wonder that. In fact, that’s what Platypus said to me the night after we eloped in Vegas.”

Stephen blinked. “You and Rhodes did _what?”_

Tony snorted out a laugh. “It was on some business trip out there. I convinced him to him to hit a bar with me. Honey Bear rarely drinks, but when he does, his fun side comes out. Now, I don’t know _whose_ idea this was-”

“My guess would be it was yours.”

“-but either way, we ended up at one of those Elvis chapels, and got hitched. Pepper threatened to ditch me in the middle of the desert the next day.”

After a moment of hesitation, Stephen asked, forcing a teasing tone, “Am I to assume you and Rhodes never…consummated your ‘marriage’?”

“Nah, he doesn’t swing that way. Straight as they come!”

Stephen’s heart skipped as he suddenly found himself asking “And you’re not?”

Tony bit the inside of his cheek. “Eh. I’m not sure what I am, but I’m definitely not ‘straight.’ I used to sleep with all kinds of people back in the day, but I kept anything other than pretty women hidden from the media, ya know? Anyone else, I usually paid off to stay silent.”

The smile on Stephen’s face grew. “Well, no need to worry about me telling anyone.”

With a laugh, Tony asked, “How much ya want?

The two shared a quick laugh before again falling silent, focusing on the television. Tony’s knotted stomach felt lighter, if only just a little bit.

~~~~~

A few hours later, or it could’ve been a few minutes, Stephen was startled awake. He didn’t even realize he’d fallen asleep, but now the sound of Tony’s heart monitor picking up speed and the genius crying out, tossing as best he could in his bed forced him fully awake.

“Tony?” Stephen tentatively called. As his eyes adjusted to the light of the room, he could see how the other man’s eyes were scrunched tightly shut.

A moment later another person was standing by Tony’s bed. Scott, Stephen realized. The ex-thief had traded spots with Wong after a while, taking up the duty of having a third person in the room with the patients. Now he nervously hovered over Tony, hands held over him, not knowing where to touch him.

“Stark! Stark, wake up!” Scott’s voice quivered as he spoke, not one word breaking through the iron grip the nightmare held Tony in.

“…Stephen!” Tony suddenly bellowed, his voice hoarse and pained as his hand reached out, grasping the air above him.

Stephen hadn’t noticed he’d even pushed himself up and had tried to get onto his feet until he found himself falling over the side of the bed, pain shooting through his entire body. The cloak that had been laying on him still grabbed him before he hit the ground, easing him onto the floor. Still, the IV was ripped from his arm, and some wires were pulled off, others simply breaking from the machines, one of said machines falling over with a crash.

“Shit!” Scott scurried over to try to help the sorcerer up but held back from touching him as well, his eyes peering at the Cloak hovering behind the sorcerer. He spied a gauze pad With shaking hands, he unwrapped it and held it to the spot where Stephen’s IV had been. He frantically threw a glance behind him at Tony, still thrashing and now shouting unintelligent words, before turning towards the ceiling. “FRIDAY! Can you…can you wake someone? Anyone?”

“I’ve already notified Captain Rodgers and Sergeant Barnes of the current situation and they are on their way, Mr. Lang.” the AI confirmed, causing him to release a relieved sigh he didn’t know he was holding.

“Lang…help me get to his bedside!” Stephen breathed, managing to push himself onto his knee, wincing in pain as he did.

“No, Doc, you gotta stay put! You could’ve hurt yourself more by falling! You’re hurt, he might hurt you more by accident!”

At this point, the door opened and in rushed a worried Steve and Bucky. They took in the scene for a moment before Bucky went to Stephen, bending down to assess how to pick him up and Steve hurried to Tony’s bedside, trying to pin him down gently.

“Tony! Tony, relax! You’re safe!” Steve’s calm tone was betrayed by the worry in his eyes.

“I tried that, Captain!” Scott chimed. “He won’t listen!”

Bucky at this point got Stephen safely in his arms (with Stephen giving the cloak a warning look to stand down) and stood up, starting to put him back in his bed.

“No, Barnes. Put with me Tony.” Stephen demanded.

By this point, Tony had stopped thrashing against Steve’s hold, and he was whimpering, tears streaming down his face, but still asleep.

“…please…please don’t…it hurts…” Tony mumbled pitifully.

Bucky threw a glance at Steve, who shrugged, before he carried Stephen to Tony’s bed. There wasn’t enough room to lie him down next to the genius, so Bucky carried him to the side of Tony’s bed, carefully kneeling to allow the Sorcerer to get close.

Stephen leaned on the bed, trying not to put pressure on his plaster-covered arms. “Tony, it’s me. It’s Stephen. You are in the MedBay, you are _not_ in danger. I’m here, so are Lang and Rodgers.” He glanced quickly at Bucky, his brow creasing in hesitancy. “Barnes is here too. He’s here to help, like everyone else. You are just having a nightmare.” Stephen kept his voice low and gentle as he could. His head swam and his body felt as if it would shatter with one bad movement, but he swallowed the pain and focused on the man struggling to wake up, murmuring the promises of safety again and again. Tony’s cries and noises began to quiet down, his face still not fully relaxed. “I’m putting my arm near your hand, Tony.” He moved his cast next to the genius’ hand, the touch of the cast seeming to calm him a little further. His eyes began to open. “That’s it, Tony. Wake up. You’re in the tower, safe and sound.”

At long last, Tony’s eyes opened, his hand flying to his chest and gasping as his lungs tried to remember how to work. Steve slowly let go as the genius took in his surroundings. Blinking, he turned to face Stephen. “Hey…hey Wizard…”

Stephen grinned before he realized he was doing so. “Are you okay?”

Seeing the other three occupants in the room, Tony nodded, his face heating up. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing up?”

“Trying to calm you down.”

“No shit, I mean why are you out of bed?”

“Oh, he fell while trying to get to you.” Scott interjected, immediately regretting the words when the sorcerer scowled at him.

Steve shook his head and clapped his team mate on the shoulder. “Scott, why don’t you head to your floor? Buck and I got it from here for tonight.” Scott clumsily saluted Steve and waved to the others before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

“…you, uh…you look like you need…you need to lie down…Wizard…” Tony stuttered out. “As much as I’m sure Barnes would be able to hold you all night, you should…get back to bed. Get hooked back up to everything…” Stephen raised an eyebrow.

“He’s right, Strange, let’s get you back on the monitors.” Steve remarked.

“Could you maybe bring over a chair? I’ll sit here for the night.”

“Oh, come on, no. I don’t need a babysitter…but you shouldn’t even be out of…out of bed…”

“Well, then how about a compromise? I’ll lay with you.”

Tony forced a neutral face as his heart monitor picked up again. “It-it’s up to you, Doc.” But he carefully shifted over on the bed, and Bucky gently helped Stephen into the space next to him. Stephen got as close as he could to Tony’s stump without touching anything that would hurt as the genius’s stomach flipped. Steve by this point had rolled over the IV bag and vitals monitor and began to reinsert and reattach everything. “Yeah, don’t get used to being on this side of me. Gonna have my arm back tomorrow, ya know. Vibranium’s not that comfy, right Manchurian Candidate?” Bucky snorted as Steve finished up with Stephen. “Hey, uh, can someone put the TV back on? Thanks.”

Steve spotted the remote and did so before grabbing a nearby newspaper and sitting with it on the couch. Bucky laid down across it, his head in his boyfriend’s lap.

“You comfortable?” Stephen asked. Tony inched closer, wincing as he did so, leaning his head on the other’s shoulder.

“Are you?”

The cloak cautiously laid over the two of them. “I’m fine, Tony. Go back to sleep.”

Tony didn’t need to be told twice. It took Stephen about an hour of watching Tony’s steady breathing before Stephen was able to close his eyes again, trying to ignore the loving couple across the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY: Wanda confronts Jasper and he tries to play mind games by comparing their losses. Stephen and Tony awkwardly try to make conversation. Tony has a nightmare and Stephen helps him out of it.
> 
> I'm no doctor, so sorry if the medical stuff's been ehhh. Thanks for reading, lemme know your thoughts on this chapter!! 
> 
> Happy October, all!


	14. The Armor Cracks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER SUMMARY MOVED TO END NOTES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY hell, it's been awhile!  
> Along with being stuck in the plot, I've been...busy.  
> Got married this Halloween, dealt with election-induced anxiety, and job stress. But here we go!!  
> Thank you tons to everyone who's read, commented, left kudos thus far!! It keeps me going!

Taylor kept his head down, bloodshot eyes trained on the handcuffs encircling his wrists as he rested them in his lap. The cold, sterile room was silent, allowing him to hear his heart pounding in his ears. He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat here; there was no clock in the room. Since Captain Rogers had brought him from his cell to here, he hadn’t moved an inch from this position. His leg jiggled, and he was pretty sure he was sweating already.

Finally, the door opened and in walked War Machine and Black Widow, the latter holding a paper sack containing some mystery item. Taylor had to admit it was surreal seeing both of the heroes in regular civilian clothing- it made them seem human. He’d even say it made them more threatening.

The Colonel had a manila folder in his hand and he placed it on the metal table. “Mr. Patterson.” He greeted, taking the seat across from Taylor. Nat stood just behind him, her eyes fixed on the chained man in front of them.

Taylor glanced up for a moment before looking back down at his cuffs. “Hello, sir. Ma’am. If it’s alright with you, just ‘Taylor’ will be fine, thank you.”

Rhodey nodded. “Taylor.” He reached for the folder, sliding it in front of him, flipping it open. “Well-above-average IQ. Skipped grades. MIT graduate. One-time Stark Industries intern.” He paused, glancing up to catch the reaction that last part caused from the prisoner. Smiling, he flicked his sight back to the file. “Yet makes a modest living as an auto-mechanic. You’ve got quite a resume, here.”

Taylor’s face scrunched in confusion. “…thank you?”

“His record speaks for itself. A brilliant mind, obviously good with his hands.” Nat commented, reaching into the paper sack. It took Taylor all his willpower not to cringe when the item inside was revealed to be the shock collar that had been around Stephen’s neck. Sealed in a tamper-proof plastic bag, Nat placed it on the table. The menacing device gleamed in the florescent lights overhead.

“This is quite a piece of tech you’ve designed, Taylor.” Rhodey commented. “Ya know, I’m an MIT guy myself. Graduated with Stark.” He sat forward, folding his hands in front of him. “Want to tell me how it works?”

Taylor stared hatefully at the device, swallowing. “It’s…it’s a long story. If you wanted to go back to my room at the house, you could probably find my designs.” When neither of the people before him said a word, he added quickly. “I can walk you through my process then, my notes might be a little weird to read-”

“How much of this tech was stolen during your time working for Stark Industries?” Nat interrupted.

The prisoner’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with fear and the color draining from his face. His breathing stuttered, and so did his words. “Once I…I got the job at S. I…Jasper would talk me into recreating the designs at home…writing them down…photo-umm…photographic memory…and all…”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Right! Sorry…ma’am…” he cleared his throat.

“Do you need water?’ Rhodey asked.

Taylor shook his head. “No, sir…thank…thank you…” he took a deep breath. “I stole designs. I stole plans. The collar? That’s a combination of weaponry designs, my research on Strange and his abilities, and things like body temperature and heartrate readings from early developments of Stark’s JARVIS system. Ripped straight from his private servers.”

Rhodey nodded. “This Jasper. You of relation?”

“No sir. He’s my closest friend.” He took a stuttering breath. Then another. It was a moment before he could speak again. “…My only friend, really. He hasn’t been the same since losing his son…”

“From what we’ve read on him, he lost his son when their building collapsed during the invasion of the Black Order.” Nat said.

Taylor nodded, not looking up. “And then he and his wife both blipped. When they returned, revenge was the only thing on his mind. And she just…went along with it in her grief.”

Rhodey nodded again. “O’Neil said you guys weren’t working alone. Is this true?”

“It’s true, sir. Two others. Marianna O’Neil. Jasper’s wife, was one.”

Rhodey nodded as he wrote it down. “And you said there was a fourth person?”

“Cameron Ripley. Her step-brother.”

“Any ideas where they could be?”

Taylor shook his head, his body beginning to tremble. “No, sir. When you found us, they had already left for work.” His breathing quickened, as did his speech as he blurted out, “I don’t know how they found out it wasn’t safe to come back home, I didn’t have a chance to text them or anything. I’d been coming back from a late night when you arrested us-”

“Hang on, hang on. Take a breath before you pass out, man.” Rhodey interrupted. Taylor took in a shaky breath, tears running down his face, and sobs overtaking his body. Rhodey glanced at Nat, who raised her brow. He sighed and looked back at Taylor. “If you can’t handle this right now, we’re willing to let you go back to your cell. We’ll question you further as needed. For now, we got something to work with.”

Taylor nodded quickly. “Please, sir. Thank you, sir!”

Without another word, Rhodey stood up, collecting the file and the evidence bag, and he left the room with Nat.

Once they left, Taylor fully burst into tears.

~~~

Rhodey gave a nod to Steve, who waited outside the room. Steve saluted before going into the room to collect their prisoner.

As they walked down the hallway towards the elevator, Nat spoke up. “Shortest interrogation I’ve ever participated in.”

“Yeah, well, the guy’s no good in his current state. Let his mind clear up a little before we try again. In the meantime, we can work with getting those designs and any other things that may or may not belong to S.I.”

They reached the elevator, Nat hitting the button. 

“Is it really safe to take what he said at face value?” she asked. They got into the elevator. “FRIDAY, the common floor, please…the guy sang as eagerly as Thor did the first time we took him to a karaoke bar.”

Rhodey shrugged. “He doesn’t have anything left to lose; his friendship’s probably dead, and he knows once we’re done with him, we’re letting Fury decide to what to do with him and the others. Besides, from what Tony has told us, and as his immediate surrender and cooperation during the initial capture shows, the guy doesn’t seem like he wanted much to do with this in the first place.” The elevator arrived at the common floor, both heading to the kitchen. He grabbed the coffee pot and a mug, and began to pour himself a cup. “Right now, let’s look at what we really need focus on- finding the stolen tech, and finding the other two accomplices, as well as anyone they’ve interacted with since we busted into their hideout.”

She looked at him curiously as she reached for the coffee maker. “You think there are other involved?”

“Maybe not directly, but remember, this O’Neil guy admitted he knows Spiderman’s identity. I doubt he kept that hidden for very long.” He took a sip. “I doubt his accomplices will want to keep their mouths shut as well.”

~~~~~

Tony had had many mornings where he woke up in some odd positions. Most of the time it was coupled with a hangover and being completely naked. He had to admit, being squished into a hospital bed, cuddled up with the Sorcerer Supreme was not something he’d ever expected to happen.

As soon as he registered what was going on, he froze, panic suddenly flooding his mind. Why was Stephen in bed with him? What the hell had happened? Did anyone see this? What if Pepper were to walk in and see them?

Taking a deep breath at that last thought, he tried to rationalize and calm himself. He didn’t think she’d ever go so far as to accuse them of having relations while they’re both recovering from injuries. It would also be obvious to her and everyone else that the bond he and the sorcerer had was forged on sharing a traumatic experience, and they found comfort in each other that way. But even with all that, something just felt wrong about being in bed with someone who wasn’t Pepper, regardless of the reason.

Maybe because what was “obvious” didn’t _feel_ obvious.

_Just breathe…in, two, three, hold, two three, four, five, out, two, three._

As the panic began to subside, he laid there, still as a statue, just observing the other man as he slept. Stephen had such an air of calmness that never ceased to amaze him. Even when his life was threatened, he had still found the power to center his mind, and even meditate in that dark basement.

He shut his eyes, trying to remember the meditation Stephen had walked him through during captivity.

_Something about leaves on a tree? No, no, in a river? Shit, what was it?_

He opened his eyes again, the momentary thought of waking him to ask him about what it is was making his cheeks burn with embarrassment. He just settled for focusing on his breathing, as he looked away from Stephen’s face. This was when he noticed the Cloak still laid over them, gently rising and falling as if it were breathing by itself, matching the slow breaths Stephen took.

“Oh, hey you.” Tony whispered, patting the Cloak with his hand. It seemed to stir slightly, nudging Tony’s hand with the collar and making him chuckle. “Man, you’re like a loyal dog, aren’t you?” The collar pulled back as if slightly offended. Tony stared at it for a moment before he chuckled again. “I’m talking to a piece of cloth. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they upped my pain meds and I’m seeing things!”

“You would at least be correct about the increase in pain meds.” Came Stephen’s voice from behind him. Tony startled, turning in the bed as best he could to see Stephen’s astral form floating beside the bed.

“Do you mind not doing anything weird for…I dunno, the rest of the morning?” Tony mumbled, his voice hoarse with sleep. Stephen flashed his half-smile before drifting over to reenter his body. Once he was back, he gently squeezed the inventor snuggled up beside him, wincing slightly as his plaster- covered arm was bumped in a painful way.

“If by ‘rest of the morning,’ you mean the next five minutes, then yes. I can refrain from doing anything weird.”

Tony blinked before his eyes fell upon the clock on the wall. Sure enough, it read five minutes to noon. “Oh wow. Haven’t slept that late since Morgan was born!”

“Speaking of Morgan, she and Pepper came by earlier, but I figured you’d want to just sleep, what with the rough night you had.”

The older man froze again, memories of the previous night coming crashing back to him. Blurry, loud, and chaotic visions of being trapped back in that house with those murderous captors, only to wake up out of breath and being held down by Steve. 

The shoulder beneath him raised and lowered a few times, shaking him out of his reverie. “Don’t worry. They don’t know the extent of it. All they know is that you had a tough time sleeping.”

“A-and Pep? What’d she say about…when she saw…?” He gestured to their bodies, lying side by side.

“If you’re referring to us being in the same bed, she didn’t seem bothered by it at all. Perhaps, if anything, a little disappointed from not being able to comfort you herself.” Tony nodded, trying to let his words sink in. But instead, he just seemed to focus on replaying the memories of the previous night as they came back to him, the blind terror of the dreams the embarrassment of having Steve, Bucky, and Scott witness it, and the feeling of immediate calm once Stephen was lying in the bed with him. He wanted Stephen to stay close, and he hated it. The longer they lay together, the more guilt bubbled in Tony’s chest. Stephen must’ve sensed Tony’s unease, because he spoke again. “Did you want me to call someone to help me back to my own bed?”

Tony eyed the second bed for a moment. “Wait, call someone? What happened to our rotating list of babysitters?”

“I honestly got tired of being watched like a child. Rhodes was watching us when I woke, but I asked if he could leave with Pepper and Morgan. I figured if we needed help, your AI would alert the nearest person.”

“I certainly would, Doctor.” FRIDAY chimed in.

Tony smiled at the ceiling. “Good girl.” He looked back at Stephen. “I gotta say Doc, the only time someone’s wanted to _stop_ sharing a bed with me was Pepper the night I had too much Mexican food for dinner. I’m fine with you sticking around, as long as you don’t hog the magical blanket.”

The Cloak lightly slapped his leg in retaliation and both men laughed.

~~~~~~

Peter, Harley, and Morgan came by an hour later, as did a nurse, who after a brief examination on Tony, helped him put his arm back on. The kids watched eagerly as it was put back into place and Tony got adjusted to it again.

Flexing the vibranium fingers, Tony sighed. “Oh, it feels good to be two-handed again!” He looked up at the three kids standing in front of the chair he sat on and opened his arms wide. “Alright, come here you hooligans, bring it in!” Peter and Morgan immediately went in for the hug, Harley rolling his eyes at the cheesey moment before obliging. 

From the other side of the room, Stephen watched the moment, a smile creeping onto his face.

“He’s certainly changed, hasn’t he?” remarked Wong, who sat in a chair beside the bed.

Stephen nodded. “Yeah. It’s amazing.”

Wong chuckled. “You two seem to get along well now.”

The statement got Stephen’s attention. “A shared trauma will put petty arguments into true perspective.” His tone was sharper than intended.

Wong’s eyebrows raised at the defensive tone, but he didn’t say anything more as the nurse now made her way over to Stephen.

“Okay, Dr. Strange. Are you ready?”

The sorcerer looked at the small cast saw in her hands, and then at his plaster sleeves. Bloody bandages peaked out from underneath, no doubt just a glimpse of what lay beneath. Swallowing against the lump in his throat, he nodded, sitting up with Wong’s assistance

Stephen trembled with anticipation as the saw cut through the casts, making an unpleasant noise. He wasn’t sure whether or not to look at the casts or pull his eyes away, but the nurse finished before he could make up his mind. The plaster was carefully pulled away, and the soft bandages underneath were unwrapped, revealing his hands decorated in colorful bruises and stitches. He could feel the pins holding his fingers together.

His heart rate picked up and his stomach churned. His vision swam, the sight of his hands doubling and going in and out focus with dizziness. He couldn’t decide what was worse- this, or right after his accident. Though he knew he could still perform sorcery with his hands in such bad shape, the weight of this happening all over again fell on him like a sack of wet cement. Was the universe just intent on torturing him with such cruel repetition? The lump in his throat got more painful to swallow against as he fought back a scream.

A gentle tug on his hospital gown got his attention. He tore his gaze from his hands to see Morgan standing next to him, her eyes full of concern.

“Don’t be sad, Uncle Stephen.” She soothed. “Daddy says you’ll still be an amazing wizard!”

He glanced up at the others in the room, all eyes on him. After wavering between laughing and crying, Stephen went with the former, watching as his laughter slowly got Morgan to smile as well. “He is right, little one!” He gently gestured to the edge of the bed, encouraging her to sit down. She did so and began telling him all about her day, how Peter and Harley took her over to Central Park, and Peter had to climb the tree their frisbee got stuck in.

Stephen smiled and nodded as she spoke, but he was barely registering the words. He just felt this awful sinking feeling, trying to look everywhere but at his hands.

At one point, he’d glanced over at Tony, who eyed him with a questioning look. Stephen simply smiled in return, unsure who he was trying to reassure more.

~~~~~~~

“Come on, Stephen. You have to eat _something.”_ Christine begged. Stephen blinked, trying to focus on the spoon full of yogurt being held in front of his face by his ex. "Wong said you've barely been eating...I know a bland diet isn't fun, but it's what you've got for now." With a sigh he opened his mouth and allowed her to feed him.

A few more days had passed and true to her word, Christine had come back once she had an open day. Right now she was trying to help a very checked-out Stephen finish his food.

“I swear once I’m out of the MedBay, I’m never eating yogurt again.” He muttered after he’d swallowed the spoonful.

“Well, the good news is that’s coming sooner than later.” Tony reminded him before spooning some yogurt of his own into his mouth.

Pepper, sitting by his bedside, explained to Christine, “They’ve been cleared to leave later today.”

Christine smiled. “That’s wonderful news, I’m sure you’ll both be relieved to be back in your own beds.”

Stephen cleared his throat, trying to ignore the wave of anxiety that hit him. “Well, depends on what you mean by ‘our own.’” Stephen muttered. “I’ll be staying in one of the guest rooms until I feel entirely rested enough to return to the Sanctum.”

Tony spooned at his yogurt cup mindlessly. “Yeah, what the Wizard said. Hey look, I need to hit the bathroom. Don’t do any weird magic tricks while I’m gone, okay?” The genius carefully sat up and Pepper helped him stand.

“Do you need me to come with you?” she asked once Tony regained balance. He shook his head.

“Nah. I should be okay.” He leaned over and kissed her.

“That was a trick question. You almost fell flat on your face the last time you went alone.” She stood up and placed an arm around him.

“Pep, that was yesterday! Give me a chance to walk!” But she walked with him to the bathroom anyhow.

Once the door closed, Christine looked at Stephen. “How have you been holding up?”

Stephen rolled his eyes. “I told you. I’m okay. I’m able to walk again, I’ve gotten back plenty of energy.” His eyes drifted down towards the elephant in the room, and then back up at her. “I’ll be okay. I’ve never been abducted before. Might take some more time to heal entirely.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Stephen. You know that’s not what I’m referring to-”

“You are referring to something I have dealt with in the past, and this is nothing more than redux. If anything, I prefer it this way, because this time it wasn’t due to my own bad decisions.”

She sighed. “Stephen…”

“Christine…” They shared an annoyed look for a moment, until they heard the flush of a toilet. “It’s not like I have to perform surgery anymore. In a few days’ time, I’ll be back at the Sanctum, back to my usual activities. I’ll be fine, Christine. Being a hostage might be new, but…” He lifted his hands briefly. “ _…this_ isn’t.”

~~~~~

_All that he could see was darkness. It was like someone had blindfolded him._

_There was a cold floor beneath him, and the frightening absence of another person next to him._

_The moment that registered, his senses went on high alert. He sat there and listened, his hands trembling as he sat still._

_He couldn’t see any thing or any one…but he knew they were there in the dark, just waiting to strike. Whispers, stifled laughter, footsteps…he could hear it from no particular direction…_

_Then out of nowhere, two feet simultaneously slammed down onto his hands._

Stephen sprang up in bed, his heart leaping. Taking in the recognizable shapes in _this_ darkness, the light snores of Wong in the other bed, and the fact that he could see his trembling, bandaged hands in front of his face, feeling his heart slow down and his hands throb in utter pain as he laid back down.

_I’m awake. I’m okay._

He repeated this to himself, mouthing the words like a mantra, but he didn’t seem to truly believe them. If anything, his anxiety began to skyrocket, and he couldn’t stop looking at the silhouettes of his re-injured hands, as if he expected them to crumble away completely, as if Thanos managed to snap away only one part of him this time. 

Closing his eyes and trying to focus on meditating, his mind began to drift off once again. But in a half-awake state, a horrific image popped into his head of Jasper holding up the golden gauntlet, seemingly unbothered by the stones, and snapping his fingers with an evil grin. Stephen could feel his hands vanishing completely, becoming fully away once again and sitting up.

“FRIDAY…bedside light…twenty percent…” he whispered. The lamp beside his bed lit up dimly in response, letting him see his hands. In the dim light, you could only see the extensive scarring if you looked closely. But he knew it was there. Even if he were to go blind, it’d still be there, no longer just the result of his own carelessness, but now the result of trying to survive and protect Tony.

Just thinking of the engineer’s name had Stephen suddenly stumbling out of bed, his breathing heavy and desperate as he left the room as quietly as possible to avoid waking Wong. The Cloak, ever vigilant, floated after him.

With every step he took, it felt like he was going to collapse in the hallway. His heart pounded a mile a minute, his hands throbbed, and he forced himself to focus on his breathing. He stopped for a moment when he felt he was about to lose his balance. The Cloak caught up to him and settled on his shoulders, squeezing them reassuringly as he stumbled into the elevator, the Cloak being the only thing keeping him upright.

He said nothing, and neither did FRIDAY, but the AI seemed to know where she needed to bring him. The elevator stopped at Tony and Pepper’s floor, the sorcerer on autopilot as his feet brought him to their bedroom door. Exhausted and shaking, his knees gave out from under him, the Cloak catching him and easing his descent until he was sitting on the ground, wrapping his arms around his knees and trying to suppress the sobs that threatened to tear from his throat.

The only thing between him and Tony was a door. He wanted to have FRIDAY open it, just a crack, just enough to see that the inventor was safe in his bed. But he couldn’t get himself to form the request, nor could he pick himself up to look. He felt frozen; completely paralyzed, like the walls were going to suddenly snap closed and swallow him whole, and all he could do was sit there and let it happen.

It could’ve been minutes, or it could’ve been hours, but Stephen was soon aware of the presence of another person kneeling down in front of him. He yelped in terror, flight kicking in, and he fell backwards. Unable to use his hands to break his fall, he landed square on his back and pathetically attempted to scurry away from what he was sure was those horrible people in that basement.

But when he finally looked up at the possible assailant, he could see a faint blue glow on the figure’s chest, gently illuminating the face of a concerned looking Tony. The two men said nothing, simply stared at each other as Stephen’s breathing slowed down. Before he could stop himself, he threw himself into Tony’s arm’s, knocking the engineer onto his behind.

A few moments later, the Cloak tightened its hold on Stephen and helped both men stand up. Tony wobbled on unsteady legs, but the Cloak held him up as well as its master. Tony placed his vibranium arm around Stephen and slowly and awkwardly guided him to the penthouse living room. The two sat on the couch and held onto each other, Stephen leaning his head on Tony’s chest. He listened to the gentle hum of the nanobots in the arc reactor

Without even having to ask, Tony knew what was going on. Stephen’s trembling shoulders and hot tears soaking his shirt told him everything he needed to know. Seeing the sorcerer fully letting go was jarring to say the least, but there was a selfish part of Tony that _wanted_ him to let go; to just hold onto him as he had done for Tony, and let it out.

Between deep sobs, Stephen again looked down at his trembling hands, the appendages feeling unbelievably heavy. Tony gently placed his flesh hand behind Stephen’s head and pushed his face into his shoulder, shielding his eyes from his scarred hands. The genius held him snugly and pulled him almost onto his lap, rubbing circles on the sorcerer’s back as the sobs died down and became silent tears. Rocking them both gently, he buried his face in the jet-black hair.

That’s how Pepper found them the next morning, both of them having cried themselves to sleep, with the Cloak wrapping itself around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY: Rhodey and Nat try to interrogate Taylor, who seems to be falling apart from all the stress. They find out there are two other accomplices involved, who are at large.  
> Tony contemplates his guilt over feeling so comforted by Stephen. Stephen's hands are revealed to him, and he tries to put on a brave face. He and Tony are cleared to leave the MedBay. Stephen finds himself in distress, waking up from nightmares and seeks out Tony in the middle of the night.
> 
> Stephen finally broke....ugh it broke my heart to write this!!  
> If I could get some comments on this, I'd REALLY appreciate it! I'm hitting a rough patch with this story, am worried my quality is slipping, if I'm going to OOC, and...okay, admittedly would like that serotonin boost I get XD  
> In all seriousness, lemme know what you think!!


	15. Discussions, Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY MOVED TO END NOTES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically a filler chapter written by a sleep-deprived author, who's trying to figure out how to get the ending he's got planned. Onward we go!

Tony hadn’t pictured his first breakfast back in his kitchen to be so…awkward. Around the breakfast table was quiet, save for the sound of clinking silverware, and the sharp sounds Harley’s fork made as he tried to stab a piece of pancake that refused to stay on said silverware. The inventor kept his eyes on his plate, trying to ignore the tension that was so thick he thought about cutting _it_ instead of his food.

He had never seen all three of his kids so _quiet_ in each other’s presence. The absence of Peter’s endless chatter, Harley sarcasm, and Morgan’s giggles just made the situation that much more uncomfortable.

Without looking up, he knew Pepper was glancing at him every now and then, her gaze burning holes in the side of his head. When he did have the courage to look up, it was just in time to see her have a silent conversation with May, who sat across the table from her. Both women looked over at him.

He put his head back down after that.

“Um…these pancakes came out really, good, Mr. Stark.” Peter commented, swallowing what was in his mouth.

Tony barked out a laugh, visibly too happy for the break in the silence. “You can thank you sister for getting the recipe from the Manchurian Candidate.”

“Daddy, Uncle Bucky says he doesn’t like when you call him that.” Morgan said, reaching for the syrup. Tony moved the bottle out of her reach.

“Well, you know what _daddy_ doesn’t like? When you have too much sugar, Morguna. Those pancakes are already drowning in syrup!” She gave one of her trademark pouting faces, making Tony smile and ruffle her hair.

The group went back to being silent, with May and Pepper silently communicating every few minutes. As they began to finish and trickle out of the kitchen, Pepper leaned against the counter.

“Would you boys mind taking Morgan to the other room?” she asked the two teenagers. The boys exchanged glances.

“Uh, sure!” Peter reached to take Morgan by the hand and they began to walk out, passing by Tony. Harley patted the inventor on the arm a few times and then followed the other two from the room.

Pepper waited until she was sure they were out of earshot, but Tony spoke right as she opened her mouth.

“Might wanna wait a little more. Spider-baby has super-hearing.”

“ _Not_ a baby!” Peter called from down the hall.

The couple grinned at his protest, but her smile faded as they waited another moment. Pepper sighed.

“Okay. What happened last night?”

Tony’s smile dropped, thinking back to earlier that morning when he and a very embarrassed Stephen had woken up to Pepper flicking on the main lights, only to find them curled up with the Cloak. “Nothing really _happened,_ Pep. The wizard had a nightmare, he came to find me. I dozed off trying to comfort him.” She stared at him for a moment before nodding. He grabbed her hands. “I mean it. It’s just a… oh what do you call it… a _trauma-bond_? Is that the term? Yeah, one of us has flashbacks or whatever, the other helps get through it. No big deal.”

She nodded slowly, but her face remained hard. “Is that why you demanded he share your room in the MedBay?”

“Hey, I didn’t _demand,_ I _Insisted._ Bit of a difference. And yes. Also, keep in mind, I had just woken up from a medically-induced coma, I think making rash decisions like that was pretty excusable!”

She shook her head. “I don’t know if that would be called _rash._ Unusual, yes, maybe even a little eyebrow-raising, add to that, you two sleeping in one bed together, and it certainly raises that level of unusual!”

“You _know_ that wasn’t my idea, and it was because I woke up from a damn night terror, with Capsicle pinning me down; wasn’t exactly in the best frame of mind!”

“Tony, all I’m saying is you two seem very touchy, and neither of you were that way before! You _hated_ each other before all this!”

“We did not _hate_ each other, he just got on every last nerve of mine. While stuck there, we worked out a truce-”

“So a truce means you guys share a hospital bed? Tony, you can’t just stand there and tell me it’s just a trau-”

His lips crashing into hers passionately cut her off. Surprised at first, she melted into her husband’s kiss, her eyes fluttering shut as their arms snaked around each other.

Once they broke apart, their faces merely inches from each other, he breathed, “Pep, I assure you. The wizard and I not a thing, we just need some time to reorient ourselves.”

She took a moment to breathe before she smiled warmly, leaning up to kiss the scars that covered half of his face before meeting his lips once more. “You’re right…I shouldn’t be upset.”

“I mean, you have every right to be after all I’ve put you through. And according to Honeybear, you were understandably an inconsolable wreck while I was gone…”

She leaned her head against his chest. The glow of the arc reactor was a comforting sight; the awful memory of it going out after Tony’s snap, and he was clinically dead for about thirty seconds, flashed into her mind. She scrunched her eyes shut and gripped Tony’s shirt, trying to bring herself back to the present. Opening her eyes, she eyed the bandaged on his neck that covered the knife wound. Her hand shook as she gently reached up to finger it.

“Just…don’t get abducted and nearly die again…” she laughed slightly. “I might lose whatever’s left of my sanity next time!”

He chuckled as placed his hand over hers, guiding it up so he could kiss it. “You don’t need to be jealous of Stephen, okay? I promise.”

After a moment, she nodded before leaning up to kiss him again. But this kiss felt a little more unsure. On both their ends.

~~~~

Natasha kept a calm face as she stepped onto the common floor, her face stoic. Taking in her surroundings and seeing nobody else around, she let her shoulders slump and let out an exasperated huff. In the quiet of the room, however, she heard a very faint scratching noise overhead.

Cracking a smile, she calmly made her way to one of the couches, dropping onto it and pulling out her phone, scrolling quietly for a moment before glancing up at the air-vent directly over the couch. “Barton, you need to stop sending me every single meme you come across.”

There was a creaking, accompanied by a good-natured groan before the vent cover disappeared and Clint dropped onto the couch next to her. “After all these years, I still can never sneak up on ya, huh?”

That got her to smile. “I know your sounds pretty well.”

“And I know your sounds, especially when you’re pissed.” He sat up and moved closer to her. “What’s on your mind?”

Placing her phone on the coffee table in front of them, she leaned against the couch. “O’Neil’s refusing to talk. He sat there, smiling like an idiot through me, Rhodes, and even Barnes tearing into him for the past five hours. We got nowhere.” Clint opened his mouth, but she beat him to the punch. “And yes, of course we tried making him an offer- giving him something he wants in return for information. But he never said a single word.” She laid her head back. “Between him and his friend, who cracked like an egg and broke down to the point where he _couldn’t_ speak, these two are some of the most frustrating prisoners I’ve interrogated.”

“Wow, they’ve pissed _you_ off to that extreme? That’s quite a big accomplishment! Give these assholes an award!”

“Clint, this is serious.” She grumbled, and then sighed. “Look, I dunno. Maybe my frustration is amplified because this was a personal attack on members of the team?” 

He nodded. “They attacked your family. You have a right be pissed. Personally, you have way more patience with these fuckers than I would.” He stood up. “I’m gonna run to the pizza shop down the block. You want anything?” She shook her head. “Okay. But I’m getting your favorite anyhow, because last time you said no, you stole all the topping off my slices!” And he began to walk away.

That’s when his words hit. _Family._

"Wait.” Clint stopped and turned back around. “Barton, you just gave me an idea…” She pushed herself off the couch. “FRIDAY, where’s Wanda?”

“Miss Maximoff is currently in gym. Would you like me to inform her you’re requesting to see her?”

“No thank you, I’ll head down to her.” She rushed to the elevator as it opened for her. Looking over her shoulder, she motioned for a baffled Clint to come in. “You were going down, anyhow, weren’t you?”

“Oh! Yeah. I was.” He walked inside and the elevator began to descend. “….so… what’s this big, secret idea of yours?”

She snorted. “Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a big secret anymore, would it?” They shared a brief laugh before she spoke again. “I need a little more of an idea of the personal side of our guy, and for that, I need to talk to someone with a…clearer picture.” He smiled and nodded, immediately understanding. The elevator reached the gym’s floor and doors opened. As she left, she called, “Bring me back garlic knots, would you?”

~~~~

As Wong tidied up around the room, he looked over at Stephen. The Sorcerer Supreme sat on his guestroom bed, his only movement being breathing and blinking, as it had been since he returned from Tony’s floor earlier that morning. The rate of his breathing was too quick for him to be astral projecting, but still Stephen sat there, staring at nothing.

The other sorcerer walked over to him. “We should prepare to return to the sanctum.” The only acknowledgment he got was a single head nod. Before he could speak again, there was a knock at the door.

“Um, Mister-doctor Strange, sir? Mr. Wong? Can I come in for a sec?” came Peter’s voice.

Wong looked again towards Stephen. The sorcerer continued to stare at the wall in front of him, causing his friend to shake his head. “Come in, child.”

Peter cautiously opened the door, immediately noticing the man who sat stalk still on the bed. “Um, hey…I just…I dunno, wanted to make sure you were okay and that it was going to be awkward for you and Mr. Stark, or with Ms. Potts-Stark, because I heard about what happened this morning, and-”

“Peter, you worry too much.” Came Stephen’s monotone answer.

Both Wong and Peter startle. Slowly, Peter makes his way to the bed. “Um, mind if I sit?”

“You may.”

The teen sits next to him. “Are you okay?”

“I am just fine, Peter.”

Wong scoffs. “Fine? That’s the first I’ve heard his voice all day.” He shakes his head again. “He won’t answer me, but answering you, child? No difficulties there!”

The corner of Stephen’s mouth twitched up in what could’ve been a smile. “Wong, is it okay if you give me a moment to speak to Peter?” After taking a moment to glare at him, the other sorcerer did so, shutting the door behind him.

“Mr. Wong seems upset…you didn’t tell him what happened?” Peter asked after a moment of silence.

“No, I did not tell him. In truth, I’m not entirely sure what to say on the matter.”

The teen shrugged. “You were scared. You had a nightmare.” He paused. “Happens to me all the time.”

Stephen blinked. “They do?”

“Oh, yeah, of course!” Peter turned so he could sit criss-cross on the bed. He spoke as casually as if he were reciting a recipe. “I mean, I watched my Uncle die, had a freakin’ _building_ dropped on me by my date’s dad, was trapped in the soul realm…” He hesitated, his voice quivering as he spoke the next part. “… nearly watched Mr. Stark die…um…twice…and…and you almost…”

The sorcerer blinked again, his shaky hand unconsciously going towards the bandage on his neck. “That’s quite an unfortunate resume, kid.”

Peter nodded, swallowing. “Yeah, so, nightmares…they…they kinda happen all the time.”

Stephen looked at him. “And what do you usually do for them?”

“It depends, I guess. Sometimes, if they’re bad enough, I watched a movie in the penthouse living room. If anyone wakes up, they join me. Mostly Mr. Stark. I think he has FRIDAY tell him when I’ve had a nightmare and can’t sleep.” He slowly placed his hand on top of the one still resting in Stephen’s lap. The man quickly realized he was touching the bandage with his other hand and put that one down as well. “It’s okay to need help to get through it.”

“Yes, but reviewing my actions from last night, I highly doubt Stark was the best person for me to seek out.”

“Why not though? He understands. You guys dealt with the same event, it only makes sense for you to go to him.” When Stephen didn’t reply, Peter pressed on. “Look, I don’t mean to butt-in on your situation, but…if you ask me, I think it makes perfect sense. If it helps, he and Ms. Potts-Stark talked about it, and she’s not mad or anything.” Again, no response. “Mr. Stark cares about you, and I know you care about him.”

Stephen smiled sadly. “Peter, I know you’re trying to help, but understand there is…how shall I say it? There’s much more to this situation than meets the eye. Things that I doubt a boy your age would truly understand.”

Peter absorbed this for a moment before realization hit. “You like Mr. Stark, don’t you?”

This snapped Stephen completely out of his stupor. “I beg your pardon, I _what?”_

Peter jumped to his feet, waving his hands. “Whoa, no, I-I didn’t mean to offend you, it’s just- it’s just that Harley and I were talking about it, and he thinks that’s what’s going on, because the way you guys look at each other, it’s gotta be something more than the stuff you went through, I’m sorry, I didn’t-”

Stephen held up a shaking hand, trying to smile reassuringly. “It’s okay, Peter. I know you didn’t mean to offend. Just know that the only thing between Tony Stark and myself is the mutual need to heal after we survived a horrific event together. That’s all.”

“Um…okay, then. I guess I’ll…I’ll text you later? When you guys are back at the sanctum and all?”

“Of course, Peter. Thank you for stopping by.”

Peter smiled and left the room, though Stephen could tell the boy wasn’t convinced.

In truth, Stephen didn’t feel convinced of his own words, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY: The family has an awkward breakfast the morning after Stephen had sought out Tony after his nightmares. Tony and Pepper argue about if Tony has feelings for Stephen, but he explains it's a trauma bond, nothing more. Nat tries to interrogate Jasper, but gets nothing from him. Clint's comment on it sparks the idea for her to talk to Wanda. Stephen and Wong are preparing to leave the tower, Peter visits and brings up the idea that Stephen has fallen for Tony.
> 
> Like I said, mostly filler while I map out where I'm taking this. I have an ending planned, and I'm admittedly super excited about it, but now comes the challenge of getting there and getting it all to make sense! Ahhhhh!!!! 
> 
> Lemme know what your thoughts on this one, though!


	16. The Common Denominator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY MOVED TO END NOTES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first post of the new year! A short, but hopefully sweet chapter, as I have a bigger one on its way!

The only sound in the gym other than the treadmill Wanda ran on was her playlist, turned up as loud as her ears could stand. But the music might as well have been a whisper with the volume of Jasper’s words as their conversation played over and over in her mind. Dripping with sweat and her tight ponytail swinging behind her head with each step, each time she heard him bring up their “common denominator,” she ran a little faster, as if she could escape the echoes in her head.

Common denominator. The words made anger rise in her chest, and bile in her throat. Their situations had been so different, and even if they weren’t, Tony had long ago earned her forgiveness after the battle with Thanos.

A shudder ran through her body as she thought back to having to see Tony’s badly injured body after the final snap, and hearing Peter’s desperate cries for him. That was all she remembered of that night; that, and sitting in a hard plastic chair outside the MedBay with everyone else until the good news had been delivered that he’d survived surgery, and would pull through.

She and the other rogues had moved back into the tower after that. As the weeks went by, she stayed hulled up in her room as much as possible, barely coming out, barely speaking to anyone. Sometimes she would come, go into the elevator, wanting to tell FRIDAY to bring her to the MedBay where Tony was recovering, but the words always died on her tongue. Not only because she didn’t know if she could look at him with half of his body so horrifically scarred, but also because she wasn’t even sure if it was right of her. The last time they’d seen each other was through a prison cell on The Raft, where he’d seen her strapped in a straitjacket and shock collar. He had looked into her hopeless stare and said nothing.

He hated her. And she hated him. End of story.

But she had realized quickly that she couldn’t stay mad at him. He’d saved her. He’d saved the whole universe. On top of that, during that five years after the snap, he’d made sure she and the other rogues were cleared of their charges, even when most of them were dead. While recovering in the MedBay, he’d given his blessing for them to permanently come back to the team, and the compound and tower. It wasn’t until Steve offered to go with her that she summoned up enough courage to visit him. The moment she had taken a step into the room and locked eyes with Tony, all doubts and lingering resentment flew out the window. He had inadvertently made her life hell, but now he was trying hard to make things right for her. It had taken time, and things still weren’t perfect, but she no longer felt anger towards him.

And yet, the words of that horrible man that had tried to kill him echoed in her mind.

The music lowered and she heard the gym doors open and shut behind her, and a moment later, Natasha stood next to her treadmill. She didn’t stop running, just looked at the older woman, waiting.

“What did he say to you?” the former assassin finally asked.

Even with her heartrate up, it still jumped at Nat’s words. “What do you mean?”

“I mean O’Neil. When you talked to him, what did he say to you?”

Wanda almost lost her footing. She hit the ‘stop’ button on the treadmill, and it slowed to a halt. Catching her breath, she stared at Nat again, who was waiting patiently for an answer.

_How does she know everything?_

“I never spoke to him.” Her voice shook.

Nat raised her eyebrows. “I know you did, Wanda. And you’ve been visibly shaken up since then.” She offered the younger her hand, which Wanda reluctantly took. The assassin walked them to a bench against the far wall and sat Wanda on it before going to grab a water bottle from the nearby fridge. “Talk.” She handed the water to her.

Of _course_ Nat knew that she’d gone to see O’Neil. Wanda pressed her lips in a thin line before huffing and opening the bottle. Taking a sip, she took a moment, thinking. The former assassin likely looked at the security footage for that conversation, which had audio as well as video.

“…if you know that I went to see him, you must already know what he said to me.”

_Don’t make me say it…_

Nat smirked. “Okay, I admit I know. Lemme rephrase- what _part_ of that conversation is on your mind?”

_Dammit._

The hand holding the bottle shook slightly as she breathed, “When he said we were ‘united’ in loss, and that Tony was the ‘common denominator.’” She cleared her throat. “It’s stupid, it really is.”

“If it’s stupid, why is it got you in this state?”

Wanda stayed silent for a moment, taking another sip from the bottle. “I saw the memory that caused him to be like this… his son. He died when Thanos’ army came, and…” Her voice caught in her throat.

“…all you could think about was your brother.” Natasha finished for her.

The hand holding the bottle tightened as Wanda scrunched her eyes and nodded vigorously.

“I…I don’t want to become like him.” Her voice was a tiny squeak.

Nat’s face softened as she gently took the crushed bottle. “You won’t, Wanda. You forgave the man you used to call your worst enemy. He hasn’t forgiven that same man. You’re not going to turn around and suddenly want Tony dead again.” Carefully, she placed her arm around Wanda’s trembling shoulders and pulled her over so she could rest her head on her shoulder. “And besides, none of us on the team would let you get back to that point.”

Wanda let those words wash over her, finally drowning out the nasty ones that had played on repeat in her mind. She said nothing for awhile, just sat with the woman who was the closest thing she had to a mother-figure in years.

Finally, after some time, she whispered, “I didn’t visit him in the MedBay this time.”

“I’m sure he understands. You can still go see him at any time.”

They stayed there for a few more minutes before Wanda spoke again. “Was there…something else you wanted to talk to me about?”

Nat sighed as the younger woman sat up. “O’Neil refuses to cooperate.”

Wanda scowled. “And what does this have to do with me?”

“You saw everything from his memory. You can see every single detail he saw. You have the ability to really appeal to his humanity. Ask what his son would’ve wanted from him.”

“Do you honestly think that will work?”

Nat shrugged. “I’ve seen the impossible happen before.”

Wanda mulled this over for a minute. “What if I say no?” The former assassin simply patted her knee.

“You won’t. Because deep down, I know you want to help break this asshole down. You have no reason to worry; Rhodes and I will be with you the entire time. Steve too, if you’d like.” Nat placed a hand on her shoulder. “If he says anything out of line, you know we won’t let him tear you down.” She stood up and offered her hand. “Do it for Tony.”

Wanda looked up at this, crooking a smile. “If you had said that to me just a few years ago, I’d have put you through the wall.”

Nat smiled, keeping her hand outstretched. With a sigh, Wanda gave in an took it, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. “Go up to your room, shower, and get ready to rip him a new one!”

~~~~~

Peter dragged his feet as he left the elevator and into the main room of the penthouse, greeted by the sounds of Mario Kart, and finding Harley alone on the couch, game controller in hand. He went and sat next to him, watching the gameplay.

The older teen glanced at him briefly before returning to the screen. “So? What did Doc say?”

Peter shrugged, watching as Harley tossed a blue shell out his cart and sped into second place. “Basically, what we thought he’d say. He doesn’t have feelings for Mr. Stark, they’re just trying to help each other through recovery, and there’s nothing more.”

Harley snorted. “Closet case.”

“Hey, if he _did_ like Mr. Stark like that, that would honestly be even worse, considering Mr. Stark’s kind of… _married.”_

The game ended, Harley crossing the finish line just behind Princess Peach. “No fair! How the hell did you recover from that?” He tossed the controller onto the armchair nearby in a huff. “I mean, I personally think if Doc digs Tony like that, he oughta just admit to it. This way he can focus on the fact that he likes guys and then find someone else who will chase him back!”

The younger teen crossed his arms and sank slightly into the couch. “I dunno, Harls…I think that would only solve half the problem.”

“What are you talking about?”

“…have you seen the way _Mr. Stark_ looks at him?”

It took a brief moment for the confusion on Harley’s face to morph to realization and concern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY: Wanda can't stop thinking about what Jasper said to her. Nat convinces her to use her knowledge of his mind to make him talk.  
> Harley and Peter realize it's not just Stephen that's in denial of his feelings.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this! I got something bigger planned for the next one!


	17. More Than Words Can Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY MOVED TO END NOTES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like lately my method for writing this is, I write a paragraph or two over the course of a week or so, and then one day I sit down and a chapter comes out. Writing is like a constant shifting between Alexander Hamilton writing the other 51 essays, and that Vine of Lin-Manuel chanting, "Come on brain! Think of things!"
> 
> Anyhow...on we go!!!

With Nat and Rhodey standing behind her, Wanda stood a little taller this time. Her heart still pounded slightly too hard for her liking, but she tried to keep her mind from focusing on it too much. She had to remain in focus for this. The elevator landed on the ground floor and the doors opened, allowing the trio to make their way to the locked interrogation room.

Steve was leaning against the wall just outside it, locking eye with Nat as she came closer. They looked at each other in silent conversation before the solider looked at Wanda.

“You sure about this, Wanda?” It was more of a statement than a question, but she simply nodded, her expression hard. She gestured for Rhodey to unlock the door, which after raising his brow at her, he did.

Inside, his head on the table in front of him, was Jasper. The light snores coming from their prisoner made Wanda slightly wrinkle her nose in distaste.

Rhodey slammed his hand on the table, causing Jasper to jerk awake. “Wakey, wakey, sunshine.” In one smooth motion, he pulled out his chair and sat down, motioning for Wanda to take the second chair. She shook her head, standing just a few steps in front of Nat and Steve.

Jasper sneered, wiping the sleep from his eyes. Seeing Wanda, though, made his face split into a grin. “Well, well. I see you guys brought an old friend.”

Wanda willed her face to stay firm.

“Yeah, friend of _ours,_ not _yours.”_ Rhodey shot back.

The man grinned wider, looking towards Wanda. “I believe that’s up to Miss Maximoff, don’t you?” Wanda just stared back. “Well, have you come to talk to me, or just stare at my pretty face?”

Nat lunged forward and brought her hand across Jasper’s face. The slap echoed in the sterile room. “You will shut up and show her respect.”

Jasper took a moment to recover from being slapped before his grin reappeared. “Alright. Fair enough.” He sat up straight and folded his cuffed hands. “Go on, then, Wanda.”

Wanda’s kept her expression solid. “The last time we spoke, you pointed out that we were ‘united,’ because of loss.”

“Loss due to the actions of a certain billionaire, yes.”

“I lost my parents due to his weaponry. I lost my brother due to his creation of Ultron.” She glanced at Rhodey sitting next to her. He nodded once. “And you lost Chase.”

The man’s expression slowly morphed into slight confusion. “Well, yes, we’ve long since established that, haven’t we? Why come all the way down here to bring it up again?”

She leaned on the table, trying to hide her nervousness. “Because I know my family would be devastated at some of the things I’ve done due to losing them. And I know Chase would be devastated at what you’ve done.” Both of them were silent, just staring at each other. “On my path to forgiving Stark, I had to think about what my family would want me to do. They wouldn’t want me to make others suffer. They would want me to take the high road.”

Jasper began to laugh. “Man, I’ll give you this, your interrogation skills have stepped up enough to be noticed!” He wiped a tear from his eye as his laughter died down. “But for real, gimme a break. You think that you can get me to talk about everything with pretty words, or sob stories about your Sonic-the-Hedgehog brother? I’m not a bleeding-heart, Maximoff!” He sat back in his chair, enjoying the hurt on her face and seeing the other three trying to decide what to do next. “Yeah, maybe Chase would be upset, but in the end, he’d know I did it all for him, and for the good of this world!”

For a moment, Wanda’s eyes flashed red, causing Steve to step forward and reach out to her, but Wanda took a deep breath to center herself instead. It was clear this was going to go nowhere; that simple talking would never “appeal to his humanity.”

_Okay. Plan B._

Her hands turned red. “Maybe he would know…but why don’t you ask him?”

She gestured to the door as in walked a teenage boy. Half his head was caved in. He was covered in blood. He had no eyes, only empty sockets, but he still seemed to stare right at Jasper.

Jasper screamed, instinctively trying to jerk away, but the cuffs held him down, forcing him to face his dead son.

“Dad…why did you do this…you were such a kind and honest man…” Chase’s voice echoed loudly.

“No! No, son, I did it all for you! I swear!” Jasper cried out, clearly not noticing the wicked smile on Wanda’s face as she watched this go down. “It-it was because of what they did to you!”

“…you hurt others…” Chase ghosted into the empty seat. “Stark has children of his own, dad. He has a family. A family that had nothing to do with this. You wanted to take a father from his children.”

Jasper screamed again, tugging hard against his chains. “No! It’s not like that! I didn’t know!”

“You know about Peter Parker. You even threatened his life.”

Between gasping breaths, jasper whimpered, “…but Strange has no kids…”

Chase cocked his head. “Strange still has people who love him, just like I had people who loved me. You loved me. But you’re not the person I thought you were, dad.”

Tears were now freely flowing down Jasper’s face. “No! Nononononono! Son, I swear I-”

“You deserve this, dad. You deserve all you’re gonna get…”

Jasper promptly fainted, his head falling onto the table. Rhodey jumped up and immediately went to check his vitals.

The red glow on Wanda’s hands faded, as did he smile. She could feel Nat and Steve’s eyes on her. Without a word, she turned and walked out of the room on wobbly legs, the other two heroes following her. She only got a few steps from the room before turning to face them and letting them envelope her trembling self in a strong hug.

“I’m sorry…” she choked out.

“You did what you had to do.” Steve softly said.

“And you did it because he was being a shithead.” Natasha said, causing the other two to chuckle at her use of the word. They slowly broke the hug and Nat reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Wanda’s ear. “You did this to help us. To help Tony. Not to hurt for no good reason.”

Wanda wanted to argue. Everything in her mind screamed that she was just as wicked as the man slumped over the table. But for the first time, there was also the feeling that those thoughts were wrong; that her power use was justified. The only other time she felt that way was in the final battle with Thanos.

Once she realized that, those other thoughts quieted.

“I know.” She said simply.

Steve warmly smiled at her before he went back into the interrogation room to help Rhodey, and Nat walked Wanda back to the elevator. This time, there was a little more spring in her step.

~~~~~~

Tony dragged his feet as he walked, mentally counting his steps until he found himself outside a particular guest room. He stared at the door intensely, as if he could open it with his mind.

“Boss, if you would like me to override the lock, I’d be more than capable of doing so.” FRIDAY chimed, making him jump slightly. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say she sounded smug.

_Leave it to me to program an AI that becomes more of an asshole than I am…_

Ignoring her offer, Tony opted to knock, only to have the door opened from the inside as soon as he raised his fist.

Standing in front of him was Stephen, back in his blue robes for the first time since they’d been abducted. The cloak rested on his shoulders calmly.

Tony found himself eyeing the sorcerer’s outfit before realizing his fist was still up as if to knock. Dropping it, he commented. “You’re looking like you’re feeling better.”

Stephen shrugged his shoulder. “More or less so.” They stood in relative silence for a moment.

“Umm…care to grab lunch or something before you guys head back?” Tony caught the questioning look in Stephen’s eye before hurriedly adding. “Ya know, with the team? You guys are pretty much honorary members, you’re always welcome to group activities!”

The younger man crooked a small smile. “I appreciate the offer, Tony, but we really must be going. I’ve missed much at the Sanctum in my absence, and I honestly should have returned as soon as I was discharged from medical.”

Tony tried to hide his disappointment. “Oh. Well…offer’s always open for whenever. We’re…likely gonna head back upstate to the compound as soon as we’re able to send…certain people… to S.H.I.E.L.D custody, so…find us wherever we are…”

Stephen nodded. “That sounds wonderful. I’m sure Wong and I will be visiting on lighter terms in the near future, once everything has settled back down.”

The two men stood in silence again.

The inventor felt his heartrate jump at the quiet until he spoke again. “Ugh, I don’t know about you, but the moments of quiet are just…ya know!”

“I understand, Tony. I don’t care for it either.”

Tony’s lips tugged upwards. “…it…it’s too much like when were…”

“Yes, it is.” He glanced over his shoulder at Wong, who stood with his sling ring at the ready, before looking back at Tony. “I’m sorry, but we really should be off. Thank you so much for allowing us to stay here. And for everything else.”

Before Stephen could react and before Tony could stop himself, the inventor lunged forward and wrapped the taller man in a hug.

Every corner of Tony’s mind was exploding with embarrassment and he was about to let go just as soon as he latched on, but then felt Stephen slowly wrap his arms around him in return, the cloak extending to wrap around them both and pull them closer together.

All the times they’d been in each other’s arms, it was after moments of pain and terror; after the bathtub incident, after the night terror in the MedBay, after Stephen’s nightmares…now here it was at just a moment of saying goodbye. It felt so normal, so simple, and yet also felt so powerful.

When they finally broke apart, they could barely look at each other. Stephen just gave another sad smile and a nod before turning and closing the door. Tony stood there and listened to the sounds of a portal being opened and then closing a moment later. He reached forward and opened the guest room door, knowing the room would be empty now, but still feeling taken aback by seeing no one where Stephen had just been seconds earlier.

~~~~~~

Tony spent the next several days in almost a zombie-like state. Hell, with the scars covering the right side of his face, he sure could pass for a zombie. He couldn’t focus anymore. He’d go down to his lab and begin work on something, but then black out and find himself standing there with a tool in his hand and it suddenly be hours later. Other times, he’d sit on the couch and stare at the dark television screen. Eventually, FRIDAY started automatically switching the TV on for him, but it would rarely make Tony even blink.

On the fifth day of this, Harley walked into the main room to see Tony again on the couch, staring blankly at whatever sitcom was playing in front of him, just like the day before, and the day before that. Scoffing, the teen grabbed the remote and snapped it off.

Tony blinked, but didn’t look at him. “I was…watching that.” He mumbled.

“Yeah, right. Scoot over.” The inventor didn’t move, but Harley sat down next to him anyhow. “Tony, where the hell have you been the last few days?”

“I’ve been around.” Again, no move to look at the teen.

“Physically, yeah, but mentally, you’re off in some la-la-land. Peter’s been staying on Sam’s floor, because he comes home from school, and can’t take seeing his dad all zombified! Pepper and May have been trying to comfort Morgan over your spaceiness, and I’ve just… I dunno, _had_ it with you sitting ‘round, feeling all sorry for yourself!”

Tony was silent for a moment. “Why aren’t you at school.”

“I formally took this semester off when you and Doc were snatched.” When Tony opened his mouth to protest, Harley quickly added. “Come on, Tony, you know catching up will be nothing short of easy for me!” He snorted. “Besides that, it would be hard to focus right now, what with the guy funding my education being completely checked out like this….”

Another moment of silence as Tony mulled over the words; or rather, zoned out again as the words washed over him like a large tidal wave. “I’m sorry, Spud.” His gaze was still forward.

Harley snorted again. “Oh, I’m far down the list of people you be apologizing to!”

Tony sighed. “Where’s Pete?”

“At school.”

“Wait, Peter went back to school?”

The teen covered his face his hand. “I was literally just saying he comes home from it, saddened to see you so out of it!”

The inventor nodded slowly, blinking rapidly, trying to bring himself into the present moment. “Oh yeah. You did. When did he go back?”

“Like three days ago. May had threatened to contact Thor and the Guardians and have them hold his Spidey-suit on their ship if he didn’t start going back.”

For the first time in days, Tony laughed. It was a short chuckle, but it was the most uplifted he’d felt in days. His laugh made Harley’s expression soften slightly. Finally, the inventor looked at the teen, his neck feeling stiff as he turned his head.

“Do you know where Morgan and Pep are?”

FRIDAY answered this one. “Ms. Potts-Stark and Miss Morgan went out on a ‘girls’ day’ with Mrs. Parker, Ms. Romanoff and Miss Maximoff about an hour ago, Boss.”

Tony absorbed that for a moment, a half-smile crossing his face. “Never thought I’d see the day of the Black Widow doing something so…domestic.”

Harley laughed. “it is like a weird family, here.” He paused, observing Tony’s face before adding cautiously. “And we even have some extended family…over on Bleecker Street.”

The man’s smile faltered, but he kept it up with force. His stomach twisted, but he just pretended like the words hadn’t had any effect on him. Glancing around for a distraction, Tony found one by noticing the digital clock on the TV. “Hey, kid, what do you say we go surprise your brother with an early pick up?”

Harley raised his brow, but elected to not say a word, just helped Tony to his feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY: Wanda tries to appeal to Jasper as Nat suggested, but she gets fed up with his BS and makes him see his dead son walking into the room and speaking to him.  
> Tony goes to talk to Stephen before he leaves for the sanctum, and they have an awkward conversation that ends with Tony suddenly hugging him. Tony then is zombie-like for the next few days until Harley finally confronts him.
> 
> Alright! Lemme hear what you all think! Comments are always appreciated!
> 
> ...also let it be known that I almost wrote "Baker Street" instead of "Bleecker Street." Almost got my Baconegg Crackerjack characters mixed up!


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